


Like a Bat out of Hell

by allacesandeights



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Teen Titans - All Media Types
Genre: Explicit content in the later chapters, JayTim Week, JayTimBINGO2019, M/M, Prompt: Mythology, Sexual Content, other minor relationships - Freeform, will add tags as needed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2020-07-31 11:07:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 63
Words: 79,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20114107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allacesandeights/pseuds/allacesandeights
Summary: Written for JayTim Week 2019Jason always thought that Gotham was hell. Now he has proof.When the God of Death arrives in Gotham, Jason and the Outlaws come up with a plan to take him down.When their plan brings them into contact with the Titans, Jason ends working with his Replacement.As Jason and Tim get closer, Jason has to figure out whether he can ever move past their history.So I have extended the chapter count again, because I planned the story but I guestimated the wordcount. And I was wrong.Enjoy!****Apologies for the unintended hiatus. Back on schedule now!





	1. Prologue

If the city were sentient, which wouldn’t be the strangest thing to have ever happened in this part of the world, Gotham would have known exactly the moment that hell came to town. 

The skies were dark, the thundering rain meeting crashing waves, and out of the darkness emerged a lone, sodden figure on the dock. One hand fisted in a tangled mass of robes dragging behind them while the other gestured wildly, and though even Gotham would have struggled to hear what the figure was yelling at the world, it was obvious that it was not polite.

Despite the conditions, there are few places a person can go in Gotham and not trespass on a heavily guarded territory of some gangster or occasional clown prince. 

That day’s unlucky ACME henchman had long become immune to the threat of oddballs in costume and so approached the bedraggled shape with the confidence of a man who has rolled the dice and won too many times. His method was simple: threats and force. He was big enough and ugly enough for that to work, mostly. 

But the newcomer seemed more put out by the weather than the gun. The henchman’s confusion might explain why he didn’t notice the surge, the water level rising at the edge of the dock. 

When he lost his footing and was swept into the water, the last thing he saw was the figure, still standing somehow on the dock, never sparing the drowning man a glance.


	2. Chapter 1

Jason hated this fucking city. 

Always raining, covered in dirt and grime, as much real as metaphorical, and full of goddamned Bats. Reactivating his security once he was inside, he limped to the bathroom, stripping his helmet and armour as he went. 

Standing in front of the mirror, Jason examined his appearance: deep gashes on his left shoulder and side; that was the batarang; bruises on his ribs and face; that was the original target, still currently alive and probably free; and his blood-soaked hair; that was from crashing head first through a window which managed to dislodge the stitches from his last fight under his helmet. It would take forever to heal if it opened every time he took a punch, even when he was under the red hood. 

‘Fucking hell,’ he said at his reflection. 

None of the wounds were difficult to patch up but getting the blood out of his hair? He hadn’t been overly attached the white streak when he’d first woken up, but he’d be damned if he let anyone see him with this red-sock-in-laundry look. Scrubbing as much as he could without disturbing the new strips, it still hadn’t lost the pink tinge. He sighed, giving it up for a lost cause, grateful that the helmet was his trademark. 

After a few anti-inflammatories for his shoulder he started to redress. If he could get back out quickly enough then he had a good chance of tracking down his original target. 

Another piece of Gotham’s scum that felt he could screw with the Red Hood’s territory and start peddling his cheap shit. Seven deaths of homeless teenagers all linked to his supply was more than enough to put him on Jason’s list. If Jason was lucky, the idiot would run straight back to his bolthole at the docks.

Swinging back out into the stormy night, Jason dropped from his window into the alley where he’d hastily stashed his bike. He rubbed at a bit of the dried blood on the metal. Hopefully the rain would wash the rest of the blood away on the ride out to the docks, he thought. Knowing his luck, it would come back with twice the amount. 

Jason was only a few minutes out when the call came through on his personal line.

“Jay, buddy, you alright?” Roy’s voice crackled over the line. “The alert’s been going off; I’ve been trying to get hold of you.” His voice was light, but Jay could hear the strain.

“I’m fine, mum, jeez.”

“Fuck off. I installed those sensors for a reason. Either you got beat or someone stole your helmet and then got beat. We’re a team now, remember? We check in.”

“Well I had planned for it to be someone else, but dear old dad showed up and suddenly it’s my head going through the window.”

“Shit. You want me to stop by and drop some new toys into the batcave? I’m working on this thing that takes out comms between local servers and replaces-"

“Yeah sure, Roy, whatever you want. Test out anything. Just wait till we’re about to go back to space with Kori because you know the JL has no sense of humour.”

“Roger that. So, you sure you’re good?”

“A few bruises, nothing out of the ordinary. I’m rectifying the situation as we speak.”

“Love your work, bud. See you in a couple of weeks. Answer your fucking phone once in a while.”

“Call me when I’m not knee-deep in batshit crazy and maybe I will.”

“As long as you’re in Gotham, my friend, you might as well ask pigs to fly.”

“Ha fucking ha. This place is a shithole. I got it. It’s only for a couple more weeks. Go blow something up and irritate someone else.”

“You always say the sweetest things. Catch ya soon bud.”

The line disconnected and Jason grinned to himself. Roy was one of those guys whose was default was set to ‘no fucks given.’ The Arrow made sure of that. But somehow, Jason really wasn’t sure how they’d managed it, the two of them and Kori had managed to form an actual team. A team that saved the fucking world, for all the gratitude it got them. Roy gave a fuck about them and Jason gave one in return. The Outlaws were good, and they understood how things worked in the real world. There was no room for the holier than thou attitude of the Bats, or the Justice League. The Outlaws got shit done, when it counted, and if a few maniacs ended up six feet under then as far as Jason was concerned, it was a fucking bonus.

The docks were pretty quiet given the weather and the time of night. Jason pushed his bike underneath a metal lean-to and pulled a fishing net over the entrance. As safe as it could get out here.

Tommy Six, so-named for his six-fingered hand, had a small warehouse next to the cheapest marina here. His was a startup operation but it had been gaining ground quickly. A smart guy could make money quickly in Gotham if he was willing to take some risks. Tommy had been deliberately targeting territory being fought over, taking advantage of the confusion for the regulars over who was selling and making as much as he could before the dispute was settled and he had to pack up and leave. Tommy had been doing this for a while, but had managed to get himself on the Red Hood’s radar when he didn’t pack up fast enough on Jason’s turf. 

Using his grapple gun to get him up to the warehouse roof, Jason slipped through the upper window into the rafters. The main lights were off, but Jason could see a glow coming from under a door in the far corner. Moving silently across to the door, he listened for the sounds of a person on the other side. A chair scraping, a glass being put down. It had to be Tommy. 

Jason took a step back, took the safety off his gun, and brought his boot up to slam against the handle. The door gave with a crack and smacked the wall. Inside, Tommy jumped to his feet, all the blood leaving his face as the Red Hood strode in.

“Well hey Tommy, fancy running into you.” Jason leant against the doorframe, gesturing with his gun. “You know, we got interrupted earlier. Why don’t we pick up where we left off?”


	3. Chapter 2

Jason stood in the main entrance of the warehouse, debating whether or not to set it on fire. 

On the one hand, the shit Tommy used to sell was not fit for any other purpose. On the other, the fire would draw the Bats here and Jason was already in their sights for this drug ring. Even if they never found the body - and they would not - they’d still come to the same conclusion. Jason didn’t subscribe to their no-kill policy and they knew it, but it was only when he got in their way directly that they made it a problem. 

Jason was pretty sure that Bruce liked to pretend that he was still dead, as some kind of fucked up coping mechanism. He’d seen that fucking case. 

Red Hood dealt with territories where the residents did not appreciate caped crusaders. Jason stayed out of the Bats’ way, they stayed out of his. When their paths did cross, it always ended in a fight.

Screw it, he was leaving in a couple of weeks. Why not go out with a bang?

There was a gas tank on the next dock where the smaller boats pulled up and Jason was pretty sure there’d be a couple of petrol cans. This close to the waterfront in this weather, the wooden walkways were a death trap, even for someone of Jason’s skill, which meant that he kept to the warehouse roofs to get across. So when he got to the gas tank, he had a clear view of the boats moored up.

All the boats were crappy, small things, jumping about in the water against tight moorings. No sane person would be out there. But, visible through the pouring rain, standing on the deck of one of the bigger ones, was a bald-headed man that Jason recognised instantly. 

The personal bodyguard of Ra’s al Ghul. 

“You gotta be kidding me.”

Plans for arson temporarily abandoned, Jason dropped down to a lower roof to give himself better cover as he watched the boat. After fifteen or so minutes of surveillance, Jason watched as the cabin opened and out stepped the Demon himself.

Tall, broad and with a penchant for questionable facial hair, Ra’s al Ghul was the immortal head of the League of Assassins. He was also an undying pain in the arse and one of the most dangerous people a guy could meet in a dark alley. Or dockside. He was also the father of Jason’s former captor and eternally displeased with Jason’s existence.

Jason took great pleasure in messing with his shit. 

If that was Ra’s al Ghul’s boat, and the man was going to be elsewhere this fine Gotham evening, then Jason had a shiny new target for his arson plans. Well, not that shiny. Actually, it was a pretty poor looking boat for a rich man. Ra’s was clearly going out of his way to hide his arrival. Maybe he was going after Bats, or the demon brat. Best of luck to them all. 

Jason watched from his vantage point, confident that both this storm and his training would keep him hidden. No point taking on Ra’s al Ghul when you could just wind him up instead. Ra’s and his small entourage crossed a gangplank to the raised walkway to avoid the flooded one below. Jason waited until the group had moved out to the main docks before he moved, tracing the path they took back towards the boat. 

First, Jason had to check if there was anyone left onboard and neutralise them; second, he would check the boat for valuables, or more likely in this case, weapons. Good weapons, knowing Ra’s. Weapons of the highly illegal but incredibly fun kind. Who knows, Jason thought, after tonight he might have his own, Roy’s and Kori’s birthday gifts. 

The boat looked empty from the dock, but he jumped on and took a quick look around just to be sure. Seemed like whatever business Ra’s had in Gotham, he either didn’t need a big crew for it or had sent them in some other way. There were, however, a couple of very shiny new flamethrowers that Jason would obligingly take off the League’s hands.

Jason wrapped the weapons in a convenient tarpaulin and hauled them up to the hiding spot above the gas tank. He found a pile of empty petrol cans and filled a couple; one he left by the tank for his warehouse later on, the other he carried down to the boat. 

The fire had to be started as far into the cabin as possible to ensure that the boat burned before the flames were exposed to the weather, and Jason knocked as much of the wooden furniture into a pile in there for good measure. Jason felt a satisfied glee as he pulled out his lighter, setting a newspaper alight and throwing it into the cabin. He knew that the boat would cost Ra’s nothing but a minor inconvenience, but Ra’s would figure out it was Jason. It might even take him a couple of days. And when he did, he’d know that Jason was just being a petty bastard. It would irritate Ra’s to no end, and Jason was delighted.

Jason jumped back onto the dock and left the burning soon-to-be-wreck behind him. The storm seemed to be ebbing slightly, the rain was slightly lighter. Jason was already as wet as he was going to get – his helmet, armour and jacket kept the worst from soaking him to the core. But it was still bad enough that he couldn’t tell if the first crash was water on the docks or something else. 

The second crash, however, left little doubt as a small docking boat came hurtling through the air and landed on the jetty next to the gas tank. 

The impact knocked Jason into the side of the warehouse, his helmet smacked the wood, and he landed hard on his knees. He felt a shift under his helmet as the stitches on his head ripped. 

For fuck’s sake, he thought as he scrambled to his feet, I’m going to look like a fucking pink liquorice.

He pulled his gun out, moved around the gas tank and caught the colour of Ra’s’ robes about twenty feet away. For a second, Jason failed to register what he was seeing, but when his mind caught up he realised that Ra’s’ feet were off the floor. He was struggling against a hand around his neck, suspended in front a figure much larger than him. What was left of Ras’s entourage were out cold along the dock. 

Jason threw himself back behind the gas tank and stared at the burning remains of his petty prank for a full three seconds before his senses came back to him. 

“What the actual fuck?” he spluttered.


	4. Chapter 3

Jason pushed off the gas tank and launched himself up the side of the warehouse, yanking his grapple gun out to get him to the roof. As he landed, Jason saw Ra’s thrown clear across the walkway below him. He slid towards the stashed flamethrower, and Ra’s’ attacker came into view. 

Taller than Jason, taller than Bruce, the figure looked like a huge man. Jason couldn’t call it a man though. Jason saw bluish grey skin, tangled dark robes that ended in smoke and pitch-black orbs where a person might have eyes. And dancing all over the attacker’s skin, blue flames.

Jason had never seen anything like it. He was struck by a bone-deep horror. Which he had a vague sense of finding weird because one of best friends was a literal supernova in a purple swimsuit. Jason couldn’t shake the feeling, couldn’t look away, felt something cold crawling up his spine. His right hand gripped his gun and his left flailed out behind him, seeking something, anything that could help him, or hide him. The back of Jason’s heel struck metal and gravity yanked him backwards onto the wet roof. He hit the metal with a heavy thud, breaking his gaze.

The feeling of horror seeped away, and Jason rolled over and pushed himself up, unsteady. It felt like pit rage subsiding. Focusing on his surroundings helped him get a hold of himself. The water, the sound of the rain on the metal roof. The roars of an inhuman flaming nightmare.

“Talia’s pet,” a familiar voice growled beside him. “I have you to thank for that wreck, I presume.”

Jason started, whirling round. Ra’s didn’t react to Jason’s gun in his face, but Jason could tell that he was in a bad way. Blood down his face, breathing laboured, favouring his left ribs.

Jason sneered, though the effect was lost. “You’re welcome. What the fuck have you done this time?”

“How dare you, you insolent–”

“Enough!”

The shout seemed to echo through the metal under Jason’s feet. Whipping around to look back towards the creature behind them, Jason started to feel the horror rise again and clamped down on it in his mind. 

Standing this close to it, Jason could see the fury rolling off it. The flames danced up around its face, falling down like hair. Its teeth were sharp, it’s tongue bluish grey like its skin, but its saliva looked black. It was repulsive, it was clearly powerful and it was angry. And yet, Jason had faced worse. The reaction he was having, that Ra’s was having, frozen in place, was inexplicable. 

Jason kept shoving at his fear and focused on his awareness, just like Scarecrow’s fear toxin. He could do this: he knew fear, he knew trauma. Jason knew how to put all his emotions in a box and do his fucking job. 

The thing’s voice was booming as Jason edged backwards slowly, keeping his eyes on the threat as moved.

“Enough! Enough of this scrabbling, enough of this insolence, enough of this cursed realm!” With each shout the flames spiked and spat and the giant figure loomed over Ra’s. “You. You will submit to me now, or I will ensure your eternal suffering.”

Jason edged farther and farther back until he felt it, his boot brushed against the tarp that hid the flamethrowers. Ra’s made an effort to stand but, being so close to the creature, the strain was more evident. Jason never thought he’d hear the voice of the Demon shake.

“I am Ra’s al Ghul, Head of the Demon, Lord of the League of Assassins, and I will not-”

“Assassins? You, lord of assassins? You fool.”

Jason almost rolled his eyes. Only in Gotham, for this level of melodrama.

“Who do you think an assassin serves?” The creature continued. “To whom do you think an assassin offers their life?” It leant down, bringing his face level with Ra’s. “Death. They serve Death. And you, so-called Lord of Assassins, you are nothing but a foul, contemptuous worm.” It lunged at Ra’s, striking him across the face. The force of it dropped Ra’s to his knees and the man gasped for breath as he spat out blood.

Jason threw the tarp back and swept up the nearest flamethrower, his finger on the trigger and his aim on the creature in a heartbeat. “Sorry to interrupt, but Gotham is not currently accepting applications for deranged inhuman villains. But I’ll add you to the waitlist.”

The creature snapped its attention to Jason. “No more of your weak defenders, lord of assassins, I will not-” It stopped, fixated by Jason, and then the flames blazed, and its eyes thundered. “Another one! Another one of you deformations, abuses of my order!”

Jason fired as the creature sprung at him. The flames blew around it like hot air, yellow dying as it met blue. The creature grabbed at Jason’s throat, wrenching him forward and off the floor. Jason fought, scratched at the hand on him, kicked out and met nothing. 

“Get the hell off me!” he choked, as the creature pried at his helmet with the other clawed hand, cracking it into pieces and letting it fall away. Jason felt the horror seep out of its box as he stared into the chasm of the thing’s eyes.

It gave a short bark, a laugh Jason thought. “What an interesting choice of words.”

Jason was dropped without warning, his knees buckling under him, Ra’s panting next to him. The creature stepped towards them so that the smoke played over them both on the ground.

“As much as you have run from it, Hell has come for you. I have come for you.”

The creature bent slightly, extending a hand out to Jason and Ra’s each, resting sharp claws on their heads.

“I am Hades, Lord of the Underworld, and I have come for what is owed.”


	5. Chapter 4

Jason became aware of a dampness against the side of his face. It was cool, not unpleasant, but unusual. And he ached, his neck ached, his back. He couldn’t feel his left arm. He tried to open his eyes but the light was blinding.

A flash of blue flame and an endless stare jumped into his mind and Jason woke with a start. Pins & needles shot up his arm as it was freed from under him; his head throbbed and he felt the pop of his spine. Jason hadn’t had this much trouble waking up since before he died, his time in the pit having given him a better than average resistance to drugs, on top of the training he’d done with Bruce, and later Talia al Ghul. 

If he had the choice between which al Ghul he’d rather be stuck with when facing down a mythical being… Well, he’d only pick Ra’s if Jason could feed him to it.

The Demon himself was a few yards away, still unconscious. 

Jason wasn’t bound, just dumped unceremoniously on a cold stone floor if the state of Ra’s was anything to go by. He stood, still a bit clumsy, but recovering. When he looked around him, the first thing he registered was a sharp familiarity. It faded fast, and Jason ignored it. 

They were in a cave. Gotham had a vast network, but given the lack of both sea air and noise overhead, Jason guessed they had been moved inland, outside the city. He wasn’t sure what had happened after the docks, it didn’t feel like he’d been knocked out with blow to the head and he couldn’t feel any needle jabs, although there are other ways of getting drugs in to a person’s system. Who knows what methods a god might have.

Hades, Lord of the Underworld. If Jason had heard it from anyone else, his first reaction would have been to assume the crazy in Gotham had gotten to another poor freak. Thinking back to their encounter, Jason was more inclined to believe him. The skin, the flames, the features, that could all be run-of-the-mill in this city. The fear - Jason had seen strong toxins before. No, it was something else, something he couldn’t describe that pulled at his core. Death, incarnate. 

But he still couldn’t wrap his head around Hades. One thing being the son of Bruce Wayne had given him, apart from a lifetime of trauma and a headstone, was the best education money could buy. A real education, alongside his real education. The classics were never his favourites, but they were entertaining. When Jason was a kid, he’d always thought that if gods were real, they’d be like the Greek gods. Easy to end up with a place like Gotham with a bunch of all-powerful beings indulging their worst impulses and fucking with mankind for the fun of it.

He knew, theoretically, that Diana was technically part of that pantheon. But to Jason it had always seemed metaphorical. They were just another type of being. The legends weren't real.

As it was, Jason had seen too much to believe in gods. He’d lived with the worst of humanity, been to space, died. He’d met plenty of beings with god-like powers. Clark was practically his uncle. Whoever, whatever Hades actually was, he was just another being. He would have flaws just like everyone else, and Jason would find them. 

Ra’s stirred on the other side of the room. The sound brought Jason back to the immediate problem. He was in a cave with a demon because of a god. Sure.

There was enough light to see, so either the cave was close to the outside or it opened up somewhere. All Jason had to do was follow the light and he’d be out. His gun and grapple were gone, but Hades hadn’t looked any further. He still had his knives, his wires, his tools. Beat waking up tied down next to a bomb.

“Todd.” The echo of Ra’s’ voice jumped off the cave walls. 

“Do me a favour, will you, and knock yourself out again.”

“My daughter never did beat you enough.”

Jason turned around to face the man as Ra’s pushed himself into a sitting position. Evidently he was suffering the effects of Hades as much as Jason. “Sticks and stones, Ra’s.”

“I can promise you that I would not need them.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Threaten me as much as you like, if it makes you feel better. You’re still a madman with an inferiority complex. Or did you come to Gotham to do anything other than poke old Bats?”

Ra’s started climbing to his feet. “I allow the Batman to live as a favour to my daughter. Do not doubt that.”

“A favour?” Jason turned back to face Ra’s. “Sure, a favour. And I bet you don’t hold it over her at all. Besides, you couldn’t beat the Demon Brat in a fight, let alone Bats.” Jason knew it wasn’t smart, pissing the guy off like this, but he couldn’t back down now. “If you want my advice old man, I’d take the hint. You’re just not his type.”

“When I have the time, I will make it a project to of mine to make you suffer.” Ra’s took a few steps toward him. “The child had turned his back on his heritage. Bruce is a fool. There are those far more suitable to be my heir.”

Jason stopped, as Ras’s words sank in. Talia had kept him up to date on a lot of things. One particular thing in detail, for her own purposes. And when she had sent Jason back to Gotham like a rabid dog, he had done a bit more research of his own. Even after he had left, after he started to come back to himself, his resentment lingered a while. Enough to follow the movements of the boy that had replaced him. 

Enough to guess that Ra’s al Ghul was in Gotham for Tim Drake.

Jason didn’t even try to hold back his laughter. His old rage at his replacement had faded some time ago. Jason knew what he’d been through, what he’d done. What had been done to him. It might be difficult for Jason to be around him because of old issues it brought up, but it wasn’t Tim himself that was the problem. 

Jason wouldn’t go so far as to say they were friendly, but it was mainly civil, now. He was abrasive and a know it all. A control freak, definitely. One day, if he already hadn’t, he would overtake Bruce as the World’s Greatest Detective. The idea that Tim would give up everything to go play second fiddle to a crazed goatee with delusions of grandeur was ridiculous.

“You are absolutely barking, old man, you know that? You’ve taken too many dunks in the Pit if you think the Replacement is ever going to run away with you.”

“You know nothing,” Ra’s spat back.

“I know he’s on the other side of the country with the Titans so you’ve just wasted a trip,” Jason retorted.

Ra’s growled and made an aborted lunge at Jason. Instead his face went slack and stared up into the cave.

Jason span around and saw familiar smoke pooling along the cave wall. Blue flames and grey skin appeared out of the dark mass, barrelling towards them. Hades’ gaze was fixed on Jason and before he could react, Hades had lifted him from the floor by his jacket.

"TITANS?”


	6. Chapter 5

Jason wrestled with his fear as he stared back at the god of Death. Hades shook him hard.

“What do you know of the Titans? Are they here? Are they free?”

Jason could barely hear the words. Hades’ bottomless gaze felt like it was freezing Jason’s blood, all his energy was directed to clamping down on the impulse to whimper. 

Hades threw him down to the floor, the flames over his skin spiking and climbing. “Tell me! What do you know of the Titans?”

Able to look away from Hades’ eyes, Jason started to recover himself but he still couldn’t understand what Hades’ was asking. Titans? He was asking about the Titans? Everyone wanted to find the Titans apparently. Although Tim wasn’t really a Titan anymore. But maybe he would be again. Jason would be fine if they all stayed on the other side of the country. But they’d come back to Gotham eventually. Tim would come, and they would follow. This fucking city would swallow everything eventually. 

Hades raged, leaving Jason on the floor and striding away, the smoke and flames engulfing him like a tornado. As Hades moved away, Jason could think again.

Titans. Hades heard Jason talking about the Titans. Not the fucking teen superheroes; the gods that Hades and his brother Zeus along with the rest of their divine lot had waged a war to lock up for all eternity. 

Jason looked up and saw Ra’s staring at him. Jason’s face must have shown confusion because Ra’s sneered. 

“You were babbling in your fear.” Ra’s could still manage to look at Jason with the same disgust he always had, despite being as affected by Hades as Jason.

It took Jason a second to understand what Ra’s was saying. And then it hit him: he’d said it all aloud. He’d babbled about the Titans, about Tim. Fucking shit.

“What did I say?”

“Enough.”

Jason slumped back down to the ground. Fuck. He had to find a way to control himself. Gibbering with fear every time Hades got close to him was going to make it hard to fight back. Not to mention that the Red Hood’s reputation was at stake. He was lucky that only Ra’s had been a witness so far.

Hades smashed through a stalagmite before turning back to Jason and Ra’s. He started to move back towards them.

“You will tell me everything you know about the Titans and I –”

Jason never found out what Hades was going to do, because a supernova blew him clean across the cave. 

A familiar orange figure hovered in front of him.

“Kori!” Jason half yelled as he scrambled to his feet. “You are the most beautiful alien I’ve ever seen, you know that?”

Kori’s expression morphed from concern into delight, she laughed as flew into Jason’s arms, green eyes flashing. Jason buried his face in her thick hair as he got control of his fear again. She pulled back and cocked her head as she looked at him.

“If I didn’t know about your thing for Clark, I might believe you!”

He sighed as she laughed at him again. “That’s never going to go away is it?”

“Nope.”

“Sorry, no can do buddy.” Roy’s voice rang out from above them somewhere. “I just keep hoping for a happy ending!”

Jason smiled up at the voice. “If it’s a happy ending you want, find a fucking massage parlour, arsehole,” he shouted back.

Kori’s smile lessened a bit as she looked Jason up and down. “Are you hurt? Roy got the alert, we saw the dock –"

“You will pay for this!”

Hades’ roar came a second before the swirling mass of smoked and flame engulfed them. Jason felt Kori grab him and lift him into the air. He made a mental note to try to go a week without leaving the ground after this was over.

The tornado grew stronger until it felt like they were taking solid blows. Jason felt Kori’s grip on him give and they were ripped apart, and Jason was flung back onto the cave floor with a crack that was almost definitely one of his ribs. 

Kori had also been thrown away but had caught herself and righted in the air. She dived straight back into the mass, powering up as she flew. The blast hit the smoke and forced it back, and it closed in on itself in a tight ball before expanding back out again. It hit Kori straight on and sent her reeling to the other side of the cave. 

Hades emerged out of the mass and strode towards her. “Insolence! If you think that your own gods will protect you against me, daughter of Tamaran, you are wrong. This is my realm.”

Jason rolled onto his front and pushed up onto his knees, grateful that he still had his armour under his jacket. Hands grabbed his shoulders and Jason’s head jerked up to see Roy kneeling in front of him. 

“Up we get buddy, come on,” he said as he helped Jason up. “I’ve got something for you.”

Jason grasped the bulky metal that was shoved into his hands. He looked down and saw a large gun-shaped machine, definitely a homemade, and looked at Roy. His friend was unslinging a similar looking device from his back. 

Roy hugged it under his arm and looked at Jason. “Don’t cross the streams,” he said, before sprinting across the cave. 

Jason heaved his gun under his own arm and followed, seeing Hades’ tornado swallow up Kori again. Roy had come to a stop a few yards away and pulled his trigger, and a blinding flash arced into Hades’ back. 

Hades howled and whipped around, fixing on Roy. The flame around him blazed and tendrils of smoke darted out from the tornado and made to surround Roy. Jason fired and the gun kicked back into his ribs, forcing him back a step. The pain spread across his chest but he ignored it. 

Hades turned towards him, shouting but Jason couldn’t make it out over the noise of the smoke whipping around them. The smoke that had been aiming for Roy diverted and Jason barely had time to readjust and pull the trigger again.

Nothing. The gun vibrated in his hands but didn’t fire. Jason looked up as the smoke hit him. In a second he was wrapped up in a pitch-black storm, the force of it stinging his skin as he choked.

The ground shook under Jason’s feet and the smoke fell away, leaving him gasping for breath. Jason saw Kori sending blast after blast at Hades. Roy was on his knees, chest heaving as much as Jason’s. Jason grabbed the gun from the floor and ran to Roy, stumbling across the rocks. 

“Roy! Roy get up!” Jason used his free hand to pull Roy to his feet. “The gun isn’t working!”

Roy leant heavily against Jason as he caught his breath. “It’s working, it’s working,” he panted. “It’s just, got a recharge time.”

Jason looked down at the gun again. It had stopped vibrating. He heaved it up again. “Alright, come on then, same time.”

Roy nodded and pulled his own gun up. Kori had thrown another blast at Hades and soared high up into the cave when the tornado went for her. 

“Kori!” Jason shouted. “Together!”

Roy moved just far enough from Jason to stop the gun shots colliding. “Three, two, one!”

Jason and Roy fired just as Kori threw a huge blast from up above them. All three hit Hades at once, sending him sprawling. The smoke and fire dissipated and the noise died away. 

Hades was down, but he wasn’t out. The shifting mass of robes began to move and Jason and Roy didn’t waste any time. Roy grabbed Jason’s armed and ran back down the cave, dragging Jason with him. Jason saw a rope hanging down, presumably from where Roy had dropped into the cave.

Roy reached the rope first and jumped up the wall to grab it, using the side of the cave to push up. Jason grabbed the end of the rope to follow him but felt arms go under his shoulders. Kori lifted him to an opening high up in the cave and pushed him into a tunnel. She dropped back to grab Roy halfway down. 

“Let’s go!” she yelled as she flew past them, and Jason and Roy sprinting after. Jason could see light ahead as the tunnel veered upwards, harsh bright light. His eyes struggled to adjust and as they rushed out of the tunnel onto the surface, Jason was hit by a wall of water. The storm had died down but the rain was still pouring. The bright light Jason had seen was floodlights from the ship.

The three of them leapt on board; Roy heading straight for the controls and powering up the engines. Jason went to follow him but saw Kori slumped in a chair. There was blood on her face.

“Kori? Are you alright?” Jason crouched down in front of her. “Let me look at it.”

“It stings a bit, but it’s fine.” Kori turned her head so Jason could see part of the gash across her temple. He reached a hand out and pushed her hair away from the wound. It was long, but not deep enough to cause too much damage. 

“I’ll get the kit,” Jason said, standing up.

“Hey Jay!” Roy shouted from the cockpit. “You want to head to one of your safehouses?”

Jason almost shouted yes. But then he thought about what they’d left in that cave, and what they would need to defeat a Greek god. 

“No,” he yelled. “San Francisco. We’re going to Titan Tower.”


	7. Chapter 6

Jason and Kori stood behind Roy as they descended towards San Francisco and the frankly garish giant ‘T’ that was the headquarters of the Titans.

Jason had patched up first Kori and then Roy before giving himself a once over. He wasn’t sure it was the healthiest response for his vanity, but he was relieved to find that he’d bled enough to turn the white streak of his hair more matted brown than pink. 

After a long shower and 20 minute’s sleep, Jason felt halfway ready to deal with the world’s second most annoying group of heroes.

A thought occurred to him. “Did anyone see Ra’s back at the cave?”

Kori’s attention was fixed on the Titans building when she answered. “I saw him when I first came in, but then he was gone.”

“Crafty bastard,” Roy said. “Head of the Demon my arse.”

Jason remembered the fear in Ra’s’ face, the terror creeping up his own spine. “What did you guys think about Hades? Did you notice anything… unusual?”

“Apart from the sudden appearance of a Greek god?” Roy said, raising an eyebrow. “No, nothing at all. Entirely run of the mill stuff.”

“There was a strange feeling about him,” Kori chimed in. “Like he was a dead thing.”

“Yeah, well it makes sense, he is supposed to be god of the underworld and all that,” Roy replied. “Gave me the creeps.”

“Gave you the creeps?” Jason wasn’t sure that they’d been affected like, they hadn't acted like it, but maybe they'd felt something.

“You know, like the creeps. Like ‘jeepers Scooby lets get out of here.’ I mean, if something was going to strike terror into the hearts of brave heroes such as ourselves, it would be a god, right?”

Jason didn’t reply. He wouldn’t really describe his experience as the creeps, but then he’d been up close and personal with Hades, hadn’t he? Maybe Roy and Kori would have felt the same if they’d been exposed longer. He and Ra’s didn’t have much in common, but Jason could accept that the man was generally not fearful. If they were both affected then Jason could believe that it was one of Hades’ tricks. 

“I think maybe he can do that, like fear toxin,” Jason said, casually. 

“It’s possible,” said Kori. “We’ve seen it before.”

Roy turned away from the controls to look at Jason, his expression analytical. “Did it feel like that to you? Like you’d been dosed?”

Jason knew, objectively, that he could trust Roy and Kori. They were a team. They supported each other. But there was still a reluctance to admit the truth about how he’d felt. “Not dosed exactly, but it was like you said. It felt off.”

Roy’s expression lifted half a second later as he spun back to the control panel. “It could be proximity based, maybe mind control, maybe a radiation. I’ll look into it.”

Before Jason could reply, an automated voice crackled over the receiver.

“You are entering protected airspace. Please identify.”

Roy flipped the comms switch. “Howdy, Titans, we’ve come for a visit.”

There was silence for a moment, and then a more familiar voice. 

“Arsenal?”

“Hey little Flash, long time. We’re dropping by for lunch.” Roy began pushing buttons and flicking switches for the landing sequence. 

“We?” Kid Flash, Bart Allen, sounded alarmed. “As in you and the Outlaws?”

“The very same international merry band of loveable rogues.”

“Wait – hold on a sec, I gotta – Arsenal what are you doing?”

“Don’t you worry about anything, little Flash, I got this.”

“That’s a helicopter landing pad! Your ship is bigger than a helicopter!”

“It’ll be fine!”

“No Ro-Arsenal, you can’t! There’s comms equipment up there, it’s not big enough!”

“Size isn’t everything, kid.”

“No that’s not – you can’t just – wait, I’m gonna go –”

The line cut out. 

“Gosh, he’s just so happy to see us the poor little guy lost the power of speech,” Roy said.

Jason laughed, but saw Kori’s expression remain fixated on the rapidly approaching tower. He nudged her with his elbow. “You alright there?”

She turned to him, slightly dazed, pulled out of her reverie. “I’ll stay on the ship. There’s not enough sunlight in that building.”

Jason looked back to the glass and steel monstrosity that was Titan Tower, the ceiling to floor windows that lined both sides. 

“Sure thing Kor, go recharge, we won’t be long.”

“See you later boys.” She turned and walked off towards the sun deck.

Jason couldn’t blame her. If he had the option to put his memories in a box and never touch them again, he’d do it too. There was a reason the three of them were Outlaws, and they knew each other well enough to recognise when one of them needed an out.

Roy had also been a Titan, so had Jason for a brief time, but their trauma wasn’t born here. It was different for Kori. 

The comms line snapped open again. “Arsenal. You can’t land here. What are you doing?” the new voice demanded.

“Are those the dulcet tones of Wonder Girl I hear? Sorry, you’re not coming through very clearly.”

“Arsenal I know you can hear me fine, now stop what you’re doing –”

“Nope, can’t understand a word. Sorry.”

Hearing Cassie’s voice sent Jason’s mood shooting to the floor. Kori had the right idea. Jason was never going to be able to deal with Cassie without thinking about Donna Troy, the original Wonder Girl. He had a thing about names being passed on without permission. Cassie might be the current leader of the Titans, but in Jason’s eyes she didn’t measure up.

The ship was close enough to the roof of the tower now for Jason to see the landing space. It was tight, but if Roy said it was fine, then it would be fine.

Just as Jason felt the landing gear touch down, he saw a red and black blur fly past the cockpit. 

“Watch out, Superboy’s up here,” he warned Roy. 

“These guys, honestly, so much fuss. We’re landed. It’s fine,” Roy got up from the controls and slung an arm around Jason’s shoulders. “Come on then, let’s go tell them all about our grand plan.”

Roy pulled him along to the loading ramp, using his other hand to hit the button that would lower it. They walked down the ramp as if they hadn’t a care in the world, Roy grinning as he held onto Jason, Jason laughing at the sight that greeted them.

Four displeased Titans stood clustered at the edge of the landing pad. Wonder Girl stood at the front of the group, arms crossed and glowering. A couple steps behind her was Superboy, stoic as his alien father, and Kid Flash, practically vibrating. A little ways behind them, was another figure. 

Not as tall as Jason, on the skinny side of lean, with dark, loose hair down to his shoulders, Jason was fixed on him even as he heard Cassie start to shout. He felt Roy’s arm slip from his shoulders as they came to the end of the ramp to start gesturing at the securely parked ship, but Jason didn’t stop. He walked straight past her, past her two bodyguards, straight to the last member of the group. 

Coming to stand in front of the man, closer than was considered polite just to unsettle him, Jason cocked his head at the figure staring defiantly back at him and gave his most feral grin.

“Hey Replacement.”


	8. Chapter 7

“Jason.” 

Tim Drake stood on the top of Titans Tower in jeans and a wine-red pullover. Jason couldn’t see any labels but he could tell the clothes were expensive anyway. As the heir to both Drake Industries and Wayne Enterprises – whatever the Demon Brat tried to say – Tim had the finest of everything. 

Jason had been born into poverty, crime and worthlessness. When Bruce had given him a life of luxury, Jason had been thrilled to turn the tables back on all the scum he’d encountered throughout his childhood. His was a passion for justice with a brutal edge, even before he died. 

But Tim had never wanted for anything. He chose this, before he’d had any reason to do so. It was a rarity amongst the vigilante community. Jason often wondered what kind of masochism had led Tim to follow in his footsteps.

“What are you doing here?” Tim seemed subdued, but then again Jason rarely saw him outside of a fight these days, so who could say. Jason knew Tim would be watching him as carefully as Jason was watching him back.

“Can’t a guy just drop in to see his favourite Bat?” 

“Last time you were here, I wasn’t your favourite anything.”

“Water under the bridge, babybird.” Jason flashed his eyebrows. “Unless you want to go another round, for old times’ sake?”

Tim sighed. “I want to know why you followed me here from Gotham.”

Jason tutted. “Such an ego, you know not everything is about you, Replacement.”

Tim rolled his eyes and Jason continued. “This time I’m not here for you. I need a word with Blunder Girl over there.” Jason turned lightly to indicate Cassie, expecting her to still be arguing with Roy. 

Instead he saw his teammate and the three Titans watching them in silence.

“Oh, for crying out loud, I’m not here to kill him. Again.”

Superboy cleared his throat. “I’d appreciate it if you took a step back, all the same.” 

Kon had the same tone as his Uncle. It was like catnip to Jason’s rebellious inner child and he turned back to Tim with a fake smile.

“You’re not afraid of me, are you Timmy?”

Tim just crossed his arms in lieu of a response and Jason twisted back round to the group.

“See? The very best of friends now, me and my Replacement.”

Kon frowned and took a step towards him, and Jason saw Cassie throw him a look.

“Kon,” Tim said calmly, “leave it.”

Superboy stopped in his tracks, a pained look on his face. “Rob –”

“Cassie,” Tim spoke over him. “They’re here for you.”

Wonder Girl was still looking at Kon when Tim snapped her attention away. “Right,” she said, “let’s just go inside and get this over with, shall we?”

“And get lunch,” Roy added, as he started to follow her into the building. He swept up Kid Flash as he went. “It must be about lunchtime for you, kid? I know how much you speedsters eat.”

Jason turned back to Tim, catching him looking at Jason intently. Abruptly, he turned and walked away, following the others. Jason felt a shoulder intentionally bump his as Kon strode past him after Tim. 

“Careful there, Mini Supes, don’t want me to break out that contingency plan,” Jason said, loud enough for Kon and Tim to hear. 

Kon swung back to him, and if Jason thought his face was pained before, it was now contorted into a mix of shame and hurt. Tim had frozen, still facing the door. He seemed to struggle for a second before walking on.

“Come on, Kon,” he said over his shoulder.

Jason grinned and made a little ‘run along’ motion with his fingers. Kon growled but went after Tim with a huff.

Jason had heard the details of Tim’s fall from grace amongst the community, and now he had seen just how fractured this group was. Ah well, he thought, carrying on the grand traditions of the Titans.

Following the group down the stairs, Jason walked down the corridor inwardly clamping down on any memories that threatened to pop up. The last time he’d been here the Pit had been flowing freshly though his veins. His rage was all he’d had. The Titans hadn’t stood a chance.

They came to the conference room, Cassie in first, followed by Roy who immediately dragged Bart with him to the semi-permanent buffet at the back on the room. Tim stopped to let Kon pass him and then held a hand out to stop Jason.

“If you’re capable of it,” Tim said in low voice, “don’t antagonise them.”

Jason swept the hand off his chest and backed Tim up against the wall, looming over him.

“Colour me Mr. Nice Guy,” he said, without a smile, before pushing back and ducking through the doorway. The fucking nerve of his Replacement. Play nice, be a good boy. Jason had taken enough orders in his life.

He crossed to the far side of the long table, as far from Cassie as he could get. A moment later, Roy dropped down beside him with a piled plate and mouth full of sandwich. Jason glanced at his plate and grabbed two of the triangle sandwiches before Roy could blink.

“Fucker! Get your own plate!” Roy’s outrage was clear even through his mouthful.

“We’re partners, Roy, we share.” Jason held to sandwiches out of reach as Roy made a grab for them.

“Share my arse, you only let me have one tiny slice of that cake you got. Give them back!”

“Exactly, I shared it with you, these aren’t even worthy of that slice!”

“Fucking thieving bastard!” Roy jabbed Jason in the ribs and Jason winced as the cracked bones sent pain across his chest. Roy dropped the act immediately. 

“Shit, Jay you alright?” Roy put his hands on Jason’s ribs, feeling across his chest. “Did you fucking break these?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Jason pushed Roy’s hands away from his painful ribs. “At least they will be fine if you stop poking them.”

“I’m taking a proper look once we get back on the ship, so there will be poking. Consider it payment for the sandwiches.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

“Ahem.”

Jason and Roy looked up to find Cassie staring at them in frustration. Kon was at her side, sulking. Bart was still at the buffet, zipping up and down.

When Jason looked at Tim, his replacement was staring back at them, glancing between Jason and Roy with an unreadable expression.

“Are you going to tell us what you’re here for or not?” Cassie had none of the presence that Jason felt with Diana, or had done with Donna. He had a soft spot for the Wonders and Cassie didn’t inspire any of the same confidence. Still, they needed her.

“You,” Jason said simply. “We need to take a look at your lasso.”


	9. Chapter 8

“Why?” Cassie drew back in her chair and crossed her arms.

“Because there’s a Greek god problem we’re dealing with and it’s our best shot.” Jason knew they wouldn’t give it up without the whole story, but he’d make them work for it.

“A god problem?” Kon’s sulking had dissipated and now he leant forward, eyes narrowing at Jason. “What have you done?”

“Cool it, Superbrat, my business is my business.”

“Jason.” Tim’s voice was still subdued, but stern. “We’re not just going to hand over a powerful weapon to the Outlaws without all the information.”

Damn replacement, taking the fun out of everything. 

“Fine.” Jason kept his attention on Tim as he spoke. He saw Cassie tense at the edge of his vision at the affront to her authority and felt a little jump of glee. 

“There’s a new threat in Gotham calling himself Hades. It could be just another crazy, but there’s reason to believe that he’s the real deal.”

“What kind of reason?” Tim asked automatically, Jason could tell. He was losing some of his subdued demeanour. Cassie turned her head in annoyance and both Kon and Bart practically flinched.

“Being up close and personal with him kind of makes you a believer,” Roy chimed in, still focused on his plate.

“It’s not the first time Diana’s lot have caused problems,” Jason said.

Cassie had evidently had enough, slapping her hand down on the table. “If Hades is here, I will be the one to deal with him.”

“No can do, sorry,” Jason said, finally looking at her. “There was an incident. Hades heard me mention the Titans and now he’s freaking out thinking that you’re the, you know, Titans.”

Roy backed him up. “If he hears somehow that you’re coming for him, it could mean a much bigger temper tantrum. There’s that whole myth about the Titans breaking loose from the Underworld and starting a war against the Olympians again.”

“If we can fly under the radar while he’s distracted looking for you,” Jason continued, “we can take him out.”

“A surprise attack!” Bart had flashed to the conference table, his plate twice as high as Roy’s.

“Exactly,” Roy nodded.

“So you want to take my lasso?” Cassie was angry now. “Absolutely not. I’m not handing it over to a couple of murderers. It’s a weapon of justice.”

“Get over yourself, it’s an electrified rope,” Jason retorted.

“It’s a Zeus-electrified rope,” Roy interjected. “All we want is a bit of the juice for something I’m working on and then we’ll be on our way.”

“Not happening,” Cassie snapped. She pushed up from the table and strode out of the room. “We will deal with this. We are the Titans after all.”

Jason watched her leave with a satisfaction that he hid from his face. Too easy, he thought.

Roy was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. “And now you’ve gone and wound her up, how are we going to get the rope?”

Jason felt a little sheepish. There was still an angry mythological being in Gotham after all. “She’ll come around, don’t worry.”

“I wouldn’t count on that,” Bart interjected. 

“What do you think Rob?” Kon was looking at Tim, waiting.

“I think I see where they’re coming from.” Tim sighed, leaning against the back of his chair. “Diana’s off world with the JL, so if this is the real Hades then Cassie’s got the best weapons against him.”

“But just giving it over to the Outlaws –” Kon protested. 

“If they’re right about Hades and the Titans, then going after him while he’s distracted makes sense. He might already be looking for this place.”

“I don’t like it.” Kon stood up and began pacing. It was such an un-Clark-like thing that Jason stared momentarily. “I don’t see why we can’t handle it ourselves.”

“You know the rules about Gotham,” Tim said. “He doesn’t want you there.”

“Yeah but in a situation like this –”

“Especially in a situation like this.” Tim ran a hand through his long hair. “If I were you, I would go convince Cassie to do it.”

“Why me?”

“You’re closest to her.”

Kon stopped and stared at Tim, his face taking on that pained expression again. After a second he sighed and slumped a little. “Alright. If you think it’s best.”

“I do, Kon.”

Kon looked like he wanted to say more, but thought better of it. The atmosphere of the room had changed, and Kon left in silence. No one said anything, everyone a little bit unsure. Jason looked to Tim and found him watching Jason again. Jason held his gaze, trying to decipher what he was looking for.

Bart glanced between the two of them before speaking up. “Well, I’m still technically on watch, so I was gonna leave, assuming there’s not gonna be an imminent fight to the death, or whatever.”

“It’s fine, Bart,” Tim reassured him. “Head on out.”

“Catch you later Rob,” Bart said balancing a second plate of food that had seemingly appeared from nowhere. “Roy, Jason, it’s been fun.”

Bart zipped out of the room in a heartbeat, leaving Jason and Roy at the table with Tim.

Roy stood up too, making his way back over to the buffet. “Damn speedsters,” he muttered. “Bet he’s taken all of those little quiches.”

Tim and Jason watched him go, Tim with bemusement and Jason with fondness.

Tim turned back to Jason, watching him for a beat before speaking. “There’s something else.”

“Something else what?” Jason said, feigning innocence.

“You left something out of your story. What is it?”

“Are you calling me a liar?”

“I know you, Jason. I can tell when you’re hiding something.”

“Big words, Replacement.”

“Don’t call me that.” Tim made to stand. “If you’re not going to tell me, I’ll just go find out on my own.”

“Fine, sit down, jeez, you try to do a guy a favour.” Jason dragged his chair around closer to Tim.

“I didn’t mention it because it didn’t seem like the kind of thing you’d want the Teen Tightarses out there knowing about.”

Tim frowned. “Like what?”

Jason leant into Tim and lowered his voice. “Like the reason I ran into Hades was that Ra’s al Ghul was in town.”


	10. Chapter 9

“In Gotham?” Tim said sharply.

“In Gotham,” Jason replied. “And looking for you.”

“He said that?”

“In so many words.”

Tim leant forward on his knees and dropped his head for a second. With an exasperated sigh he sat back up and ran a hand through his hair again. “This is the worst possible time for this.”

For a second, Jason was gripped by the urge to ask Tim what was wrong, but it was quickly overcome.

“Aww, poor little prom queen, too popular for her own good.”

“Fuck off, Jay.”

“Don’t shoot the messenger, babybird. Ra’s’ little crush means he and his League friends are in Gotham. It’s a problem.”

“I know, shit, I know. I didn’t think he’d come back again so soon.”

That got Jason’s attention. He hadn’t noticed any League assassins running around recently. Not that he’d probably notice unless he was looking, and he’d been out of town with the Outlaws. “What? How often has he been in Gotham?”

Tim waited a second before answering. “A couple of times this year.”

Something about the way Tim answered made Jason suspicious, and then it clicked. “Shit, Tim, have you been keeping this a secret?”

“It’s not like that, alright?” Tim hissed. “He comes to Gotham, he says his piece, I turn him down and he leaves. It’s not like I’m covering up his crimes.”

“Are you sure about that? Do you know what else he’s doing when he’s in Gotham? A heads up wouldn’t be too much fucking trouble would it?” Jason could feel himself getting angry. Mostly at himself for not realising how often Ra’s had been in Gotham but also at Tim for being so monumentally stupid.

“By the time I know he’s there, he’s already found me. It’s not like he sends an invitation,” Tim threw back.

“Timmy. Tim. Please. Tell me that every time Ra’s comes to town, he doesn’t kidnap you?” Jason was incredulous. He had to have this wrong.  
Tim was silent.

Jason threw his arms up and stood up out of his chair. “I can’t believe this. I can’t believe that you, of all people, would be so insanely stupid as to hide something like this!”

Tim leapt out of his chair and grabbed Jason’s jacket, pulling him back towards him. “Keep your voice down!” he demanded.

Jason grabbed Tim’s shoulders and shoved his face down close to Tim’s. “Stop being such a fucking idiot!” he hissed. 

“You boys alright over there?” Roy called from the other side of the room. His voice was light, but Jason could see he’d put his food down and had a hand on his gun. He pushed Tim away, who let go of his jacket and stepped back.

“We’re fine Roy. Don’t you know that’s how people say ‘hello’ in Gotham?”

“You know what?” Roy said, “I fucking believe you.” He turned away from them and picked up his plate again. 

Jason turned back to Tim. “You’ve got a fucking death wish, Replacement. Trust me, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”

Tim was breathing heavy, face flushed with anger. “My business is my business, Jason.”

“Un-fucking-believable,” Jason muttered. 

“Just leave it.” Tim took a second to get a hold himself, Jason saw him control his breathing. “Look, I have a handle on it, okay?”

Jason shook his head. “You don’t know the League. They kill first and then don’t bother asking any questions later. The hiring criteria is vey specific. There is no ‘having a handle’ on anything when it comes to them.”

“I understand what you’re saying, I do, but Ra’s won’t be obsessed with me forever, he’ll find something new eventually.”

“You’re talking about an immortal maniac! You can’t know that.”

“Why do you even care?”

“I don’t,” Jason said automatically. “I care about him sneaking around Gotham and you keeping it a fucking secret.”

“Well next time I’ll send you a fucking text, happy?”

“Wonderful!” Jason injected as much bitter sarcasm as he could into the word as he kicked his chair across the room. He stared at the ceiling, tempering his rage. “The sooner we get what we came for and get out of this place the better.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Cassie announced as she walked back into the room, Kon following behind. 

Taking in the scene, Kon moved quickly over to stand with Tim. “What’s going on?” Kon turned to Jason. “What did you do?”

“Nothing, Kon, nothing,” Tim said, putting a few steps distance between himself and Jason. “It’s all fine.”

Jason just gave Kon an acid look. “What he said.”

Kon opened his mouth but Jason cut across him to Cassie. “So you’re going to do it?”

“Yes. As much as I don’t like it, if Hades is distracted looking for us, it’s the best shot at catching him off guard.” Cassie looked over at Roy. “How long will it take?”

“Not sure, I’ve got something similar that works on a different type of charge. If I can modify to hold a few bolts from your lasso, not long I reckon.”

“Great, then you’ll be out of here.”

“Sounds good to me,” Jason agreed, an edge to his tone.

“I’m going with you.”

“What?” Jason, Kon and Cassie shouted at once with various tones of disbelief, all turning to Tim.

Tim stood calmly, watching them all. “I’m going with the Outlaws, back to Gotham.”

“Absolutely fucking not,” Jason said.

“Why?” Kon look devastated as he moved closer to Tim. 

“Because I’m the only one who can,” Tim replied, ignoring Jason’s outburst. “I was only out here temporarily; I can go back with Jason and do recon on Hades. If Roy’s weapon doesn’t work, I can call for you guys to come in.”

“No, Tim –” Kon started, before Cassie cut across him. Jason wondered if he ever had enough of being talked over.

“Fine,” Cassie said loudly. “Report back. Keep an eye on them.”

“Fuck you,” Jason said.

“I don’t get it,” Kon turned back to Tim. “You still have things to do here. You can stay and we’ll find out what’s going on in Gotham. Why go with Jason when we can handle this?”

“Because he’s a Bat, Kon. That’s why. They’re all the same.” Cassie fixed Tim with a hateful stare.

“What did you just say?” Jason growled, turning his full attention on Cassie.

“You heard me,” she yelled back.

“I want you to say it again.” Jason took a step forward.

Cassie stood her ground. “Everyone knows what your lot are like.”

“You’re going to regret that,” Jason said, starting at her.

“Jason!” Tim shouted, diving forward to grab his arm and shove him back. He got in front of Jason and grabbed his jacket again, pushing him backwards. “Don’t do this here!”

Roy had dashed across the room and stood at Jason’s shoulder. “He’s right, buddy, it’s not worth it,” he murmured. “We just need the lasso and then we’re gone.”

Jason looked at Roy, and then at Tim. Both wore similar wary expressions. Kon and Cassie were on the defensive, standing back.

“Fine,” Jason said, pulling away from them. “Fine. Do what you have to do, Roy, and then we’re gone.” 

Jason marched out of the room without looking back, out into the window-lined corridor that led back to the ship. Just as he reached the door to the roof, he glanced out the window and froze, catching sight of his reflection.

His eyes were green.

Jason stared at his reflection.

The green in the whites of his eyes swirled, luminescent. It was a side-effect of the Pit, the only physical sign of the madness that it induced. Jason screwed his eyes shut and leant his forehead against the glass. 

Shit, he thought. This wasn’t supposed to happen again. He thought he’d gotten over it. 

Jason stayed like that for a few minutes, head against the glass, practicing all the techniques he’d developed to calm himself down. Once he felt more himself, he pulled back and opened his eyes, finding them in his reflection. Mostly white now, the green receding. 

Jason was about to carry on up to the ship when he heard angry voices behind him.

“No, Kon, I’m going back to Gotham!”

“Please, Rob, just talk to me, for fuck’s sake!”

“There’s nothing to say.”

“But –”

“For the last time, Kon, will you just leave it alone?”

Jason heard footsteps coming towards him.

“Jason?”

Tim’s voice was tentative, like he was approaching a wild animal. Jason turned around and scowled at him. “What?”

“You seem… better,” Tim said, looking relieved. 

Jason glanced at Kon over Tim’s shoulder, radiating pent-up frustration.

“Well you know us unstable types, can never tell what we’ll do next,” Jason said, looking back to Tim. 

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to, babybird.”

“Look, I didn’t mean – just wait.” Tim ran a hand through his hair again. “I’m going to pack my stuff, then I’m coming up to the ship, alright?”

Kon started again “No, Tim, you don’t have to –”

“I’m leaving, Kon, it’s done.” Tim called over him. He turned back to Jason. “Alright?”

Jason looked at Kon again, how unhappy he was at the idea. Completely worth a couple of hours on a plane with a massive trigger for his apparently not-dormant rage. He looked down at Tim, staring back at him. 

“Welcome aboard, Replacement.”


	11. Chapter 10

Jason was already regretting it. 

He was going to need to take a picture of Kon’s miserable face somehow just to remind himself why he’d agreed to it. 

He was lying side by side with Kori on the sun deck of their ship, eyes closed and much more relaxed than he’d been downstairs. 

Kori was definitely the smartest one of them.

Roy was somewhere in the Tower getting Cassie to throw charges at his latest creation with her lasso. Jason hoped it would be a quick process. But he knew from experience that when he really wanted something, the universe would find a special way to screw him over.

A voice echoed from elsewhere on the ship. “Jason?”

Oh look, Jason thought, it’s the universe coming to screw me over.

“Jason?” Tim called again.

Kori smacked him in the arm without getting up. “It’s your problem, go deal with it.”

“Why is it just my problem?” Jason didn’t move.

“Because he’s a Bat.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that?”

“Because it’s your fault. Now go deal with it before he comes up here.” Kori gave him enough of a shove that Jason nearly fell off the edge of the recliner.

“Alright, fine,” Jason grumbled, swinging his legs over the side and sitting up. “I’ll go deal with the babybird because apparently no one else can.”

“Sulking doesn’t suit you, Jason.”

“Oh shut up.” 

Kori just smiled, otherwise unaffected. Jason huffed and left the sun deck, heading down the corridor to the ship’s ramp, assuming Tim was waiting for him there. 

Of course, when he got there, his Replacement was nowhere to be seen. 

“For fuck’s sake,” Jason muttered. He looked around, trying to pick the most likely route Tim would have taken. He figured the large doors leading from the ramp up to the control deck were the obvious choice. 

Jason’s guess was rewarded when he saw a rucksack and holdall abandoned by one of the chairs. 

Softening his footsteps, Jason preceded up the corridor as only a League-trained vigilante could, listening out for any signs of his prey.

In the next room he heard it. The tell-tale sounds of someone moving carefully about in the control room. Moving quickly up the last corridor, Jason observed Tim as he was leant over the control desk, examining the ship functions.

Nosy fucking bastard, Jason thought. 

Silently, Jason crept up as close as he thought he could get without reasonably expecting Tim to notice him.

Then he sprang.

Jason launched himself across the small space and grabbed Tim by the arm, twisting it around behind him to pin him to the wall – but Tim was fast. He spun with his arm as Jason pulled, bringing his other hand around to smack Jason in the head. Jason saw it coming and caught it so he had hold of both Tim’s wrists and kicked a leg out to sweep Tim’s legs from under him. As Tim fell, Jason bent Tim’s arms up behind him and caught him before he hit the ground. 

Jason grinned as leant over Tim. “Made ya jump, Replacement.”

“Jason, what the hell? Get off me!” Tim made an aborted move to pull his arms out but Jason just held him tighter.

“Are you stuck, babybird?”

Tim’s expression shuttered and Jason felt a tug as Tim jerked his leg up and hooked Jason’s knee from behind, knocking Jason off-balance and giving Tim just enough room to yank one of his arms out of Jason’s grip. He pushed off the floor and threw his weight at Jason, driving him back against the wall. Jason still had a grip on Tim’s other arm and pulled Tim with him, drawing his arm back to try to get hold of Tim’s throat but as he got his hand round it, he felt a sharp point at his side. Glancing down he saw a short knife against his tshirt in Tim’s hand. 

“Playing dirty? I’m almost impressed.” Jason laughed.

“Are you finished?” Tim asked, dryly. 

“Sure, sure, Replacement, truce, and all that.” Jason let go his grip on Tim’s neck and arm, aware as Tim stepped back that Tim’s body had been pressed up against him.

“You want to tell me why you couldn’t just say ‘hey’ like a normal person?” Tim crossed his arms, still holding the knife.

“You want to tell me what you’re doing sneaking around my spaceship?” Jason responded. 

Tim dropped his arms and sighed. “Tell me you wouldn’t have done the same thing in my position.”

“I wouldn’t have been caught.”

“Well I didn’t expect to ambushed!”

“And there’s your first mistake. This isn’t a safe space for Bats.” Jason didn’t like that Tim had just barged his way in here. None of them had any notion of personal space.

“Let me make something very clear to you, Replacement. I am giving you a lift, out of the kindness of my undead heart, and in return you will bend over backwards to stay out of my way and not act like you fucking own the place!”

Jason had taken a step towards Tim as he shouted, and saw Tim’s hand tighten around the knife handle. 

“Fine!” Tim shouted back. “Forgive me for thinking I wouldn’t be fucking attacked after you agreed to take me!”

Jason opened his mouth to argue back but Tim shouldered past him and stormed off into the ship. Jason considered going after him, but he didn’t want to fight. He’d just managed to calm himself down.

Jason collapsed into the control chair and put his hands over his face. The Bats were infuriating. It was only a matter of time before Tim had mapped out the schematics of the entire ship and filled the thing with bugs. Jason groaned behind his hands. This was such a mistake.

It was only a couple of hours. He could cope for a couple of hours. Roy would be done soon, they’d leave San Francisco, Kori would feel better, they’d defeat Hades and continue on with their deeply disturbing lives. And Jason could back to ignoring all the Bats.

And, he couldn’t forget, having Tim onboard had the added benefit of annoying all the Titans.

The reveal that Batman had contingency plans in place to take down any and all members of the Justice League was clearly still a fresh wound. Bruce had always been a paranoid bastard, and he had worked hard to instil that in his entire collection of child sidekicks.

Dickie had lost his ability to commit, destroying his romantic life, and Kori’s. Jason trusted a handful of people but never expected anyone to stay and always expected to be fucked over. Tim had become so paranoid he hadn’t even revealed his identity to his closest friends. Steph had had her self-confidence and identity destroyed. The Demon Brat had probably been born unbalanced, considering how much crazy was in both his bloodlines. Cass, well Cass was probably more dangerous than any of them. Jason had no idea how she operated, and that fact alone could be because of Bruce-like levels of paranoia. 

Jason could spend hours going over all the reasons Bruce Wayne should never have been allowed near children, but it wouldn’t do any good. They were all still fucked for life.

The contingency reveal had certainly had knock-on effects for the Titans. Red Robin, unwilling to confirm whether such plans existed for the Titans, had chosen his loyalty to Bruce over his friends and quit the team. They, in return, had stripped him of his leadership and made him something of an outcast. When Tim’s identity was finally revealed, he had begun working with Titans again but the damage was done.

And from what Jason had seen, it was a long road to reconciliation. Cassie clearly didn’t like having someone around who challenged her authority. Kid Flash seemed restless even for a speedster. Superboy, he had the melodrama down. 

Kon had danced around Tim like he was actually a Kansas boy and not a practically invincible alien experiment. He had known from his research that Tim and Kon were close, but now he wondered what their relationship had really been.

Not serious enough for Superboy to know Red Robin’s identity, but maybe the beginning of something. Maybe some youthful pining. Some Austen-esque walks about the grounds. 

Jason chuckled to himself. He could imagine Tim pulling a Mr. Darcy on Kon’s poor Miss Bingley.

The Darcy analogy suited Tim, now that Jason thought about it. Insanely wealthy, socially inept, rude, arrogant, no fun at parties. He could imagine Tim turning a declaration of love into a logic-based analysis of the suitability of the match. Jason would pay money to see that.

Jason stood, shaking his head. All this time around the Titans felt like watching a damn soap opera. Maybe Roy would be finished soon. And then they could get the fuck outta here.


	12. Chapter 11

“It’s going good, actually. I’m a genius, have I ever told you that?” Roy said, waving odd bits of electronics about. “Unless of course I’ve just jinxed it. I’ve just jinxed it, haven’t I?”

“You think you could get any more jinxed than you already are, genius?” Jason laughed, watching his friend work in the Tower tech lab.

“If you don’t move, this next charge is for your head, Red Hood.”

Jason turned to Cassie, standing at the far end of the lab, swinging her lasso in figure-eights.

“I’m moving, I’m moving. Don’t get all tied up in knots.” Jason moved to one side of the machine Roy was working on.

“Alright, blondie,” Roy said, moving away from the machine to stand next to Jason. “Let her rip.”

Cassie whirled the lasso up over her head and brought it down across her, sending a blast directly at Roy’s creation.

The hit made the machine light up like fireworks, sparks flying everywhere. Roy jumped on the spot and clapped his hands – Jason had a brief glimpse of the kid he might have been once.

“Yes!” Roy yelled, running back over to the device before it had fully stopped sparking. “That’s the one!”

“Really?” Cassie yelled. “Does that mean I can stop now?”

Roy waved a hand at her without taking his eyes off his work. “Yep, all good Wonder Girl, the world thanks you and all that.”

“Finally,” Cassie announced, striding towards the door. “And does this mean you’ll be on your way?”

“Twenty minutes to load up and we’re gone,” Roy replied.

“That’s the fucking good news I was hoping for, you crazy bastard,” Jason said.

Cassie ignored him. “Fine. Try not to hit our comms equipment on your way out, yeah?” She didn’t wait for a response before disappearing through the door.

Roy turned slightly to Jason. “Fifty bucks says Red Robin is back in charge of the Titans inside a year.”

Jason laughed. “Six months. You’re on.”

“Deal. Now help me carry this back to the ship.”

“Ugh. Where’s Mini Supe when you need him?”

“Far away from me, which is how I like it,” Roy said, positioning himself on the far side of the machine from Jason, flexing his hands. “I’ve had enough of the Teen Drama.”

“You as well, huh?” Jason ran his hands along the side of the machine, looking for the best grip.

“Don’t hold it by the light, it won’t take the weight,” Roy said. “Yeah, this place is a fucking reality show in the making. Back in our day, we were dealing with proper teenage rebellion, drugs and death and such.”

“Exactly! Kids today, making mountains for the hell of it. Ready? One, two, three!”

They heaved the machine up between them and started moving it towards the lift.

“A building full of young healthy metahumans,” Roy complained, “and it’s us two dragging this thing around.”

Jason readjusted his grip slightly. “The Titans are just bad hosts. No manners. I mean, you gotta question their upbringing, right?”

They got the machine in the lift, and flew up the twenty odd floors to the roof. The wind was picking up, which meant that Jason didn’t hear the shouting until they were practically in the hangar.

He looked across at Roy, who rolled his eyes. “Looks like this episode is being filmed on location,” he said, and Jason grimaced.

They ignored the domestic until they had secured the machine where Roy needed it for the journey, and then followed the sound of angry voices until they found Kon and Tim on the control deck. Tim was stood stiffly on one side as Kon paced about.

“Get the fuck off my ship, Superbrat,” Jason yelled as he walked in. Tim and Kon leapt around, falling silent.

“Get ready for takeoff!” Roy announced loudly, ignoring the two Titans and marching straight to the cockpit. 

Kon was still stood there, staring blankly with red-rimmed eyes at Jason and Roy as they moved about.

“Do I need to say it in Kryptonian? Because I got Clark to teach me all the bad words first,” Jason said as he helped Roy with the pre-flight routine.

That seemed to register, as Kon spun back around to Tim. “Come on, Rob, please. Stay here. Just stay here. Don’t leave like this!”

“There’s a threat in Gotham, Kon. I’m going.” Tim was holding himself so rigid Jason thought it had to be painful. But that was not Jason’s problem.

He picked up a screwdriver and threw it straight at the back of Kon’s head. It bounced off harmlessly, but Kon turned to Jason with disbelief on his face.

“Get. Out.” Jason said loudly, grabbing his phone from his pocket.

“Hangar’s closing in thirty seconds kid,” Roy yelled.

Kon turned around again, his expression so perfectly constipated that Jason held up his phone and clicked. The image was slightly blurry, but it would do.

“What was that?” Kon demanded.

“Never you mind,” Jason said, pocketing the phone. “Now for the last time, get the fuck out!”

Kon turned back to Tim, but Tim cut him off before he could a word out.

“Leave, Kon. We’re taking off.”

Kon hesitated a second longer, and then he was gone. Tim’s shoulders loosened slightly, but he was still tense.

Jason took a few steps towards him. “Did we not just have a conversation about the conditions of this little trip? What part of ‘stay out of the fucking way’ did you not understand?”

“I didn’t invite him up here!” Tim snapped. 

“He’s your pet Super, you should know how to deal with him!”

“He’s not my pet, arsehole. He was my friend.”

“Was, huh?” Jason smiled. “What an interesting little Freudian slip, babybird.”

“Fuck you, Jason.” Tim grabbed his rucksack and holdall and stormed off the deck without another word.

Jason turned around to find Roy, giving him a look.

“What?” Jason said.

“Nothing. Just doing the normal checks, you know, fuel, lights, green eyes, et cetera,” Roy replied. 

Jason glanced at the nearest glass. Normal eyes. Good.

“It’s not Pit rage, it’s good old-fashioned Bat rage, don’t worry,” Jason said as he dropped into the chair next to Roy.

Roy was silent for a second. “That was an awful short fuse you had in there, bud.”

Jason sighed. “Fucking Replacement, just gets under my skin.”

“You’ve admitted yourself that he’s not the problem, he was never the real problem.”

“No, he wasn’t. But he’s still one of them,” Jason said quietly. “He talks like them, acts like them. Looks at me like them.”

“I think you might be reading a bit too much into that last one.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Roy said, as he looked at his friend, “that back in that meeting he didn’t voluntarily speak to anyone but you. He stayed behind when they all left, and he asked you if he could get a lift back to Gotham.”

“What? Roy that’s not –”

“I mean, bud,” Roy continued, “that he trusts you. For whatever reason.” Roy turned his attention back to the control panel. “Maybe it is because you’re both Bats, maybe it’s because he was your replacement, maybe it’s because you’re both Gotham, through and through. Who knows. But I don’t think he looks at you the way they do. Certainly not the way Dickie does.”

Roy didn’t look at him. Jason didn’t say anything.


	13. Chapter 12

The ship took off easily. Roy hadn’t clipped any of their comms equipment, but Jason later found out that he’d redirected one of their satellite dishes to pick up hardcore porn when they next tried to contact the Watchtower.

Kori had come down from the sun deck as soon as they’d left San Francisco. None of them mentioned it. 

Forty minutes away from Gotham, the three Outlaws were playing go fish with the ship on autopilot, arguing about what to watch on their next movie night. 

“We haven’t watched in ages,” Roy moaned. “It’s a classic!”

“We watched it last week. Literally last week. You’re obsessed,” Jason laughed.

“That’s not true! Kori, tell him, it’s the best pick!”

“Roy, it’s a great film, of course it is, but I will not let you make us watch it again for at least a month.” Kori made a show of being overly sympathetic.

“Unbelievable, the both of you. Some kind of collective delusion, I’d bet, I’ll start working on a cure. Then we’ll all be able to enjoy Robin Hood again,” Roy went to put his hand on the card pile. “Wait, who’s turn is it?”

“Mine,” Jason said. “Put that back.”

“Oh shut up, you’ve been cheating the whole time.”

“Only to balance out the odds against your cheating.”

“And yet, boys, I’m still winning,” Kori chimed.

“That’s only because you pretended that Jason hadn’t taught you how to cheat and learned it from me as well!”

A light started flashing on the control panel and Roy stood up. “Don’t look at my cards!” 

He left the table and went to deal with the alert. Kori promptly leant over and picked up his cards. Jason laughed again.

“No shame, Princess.”

“Shame is not a Tamaranian concept,” Kori replied. 

“Whatever you say.” Jason stretched out on his chair as Kori flashed him the cards before placing them back down. A minute later, Roy came back to the table.

“I know you looked at them,” he said, sitting down. “And I feel like the only way you can make up for this betrayal is agreeing to let me choose the movie.”

“Dream on, bud,” Jason replied. “What was the alert?”

“Just a bit of turbulence up ahead, I’ve adjusted the course.”

“You might want to land at one of the lesser used places, considering our passenger. He’s probably crawling about the air vents planting bugs as we speak.”

Roy pondered that for a second, and then hurried back to the control panel. 

“He’s asleep, Jay,” Kori said. 

“How do you know that?” Jason picked up the pile of cards and started reordering them.

“Because I found him sat in the corridor, so I put him in your room. He said he was going to take a nap.”

“In my – what?” Jason floundered. “Why?”

“I didn’t want to put him in my room,” she said simply. “I don’t want bugs in there.”

“Well neither do I!”

“You invited him here, he’s your responsibility.”

“I hope Roy wins this game,” Jason said, rising from his chair.

Kori laughed and took Jason’s cards from him as he left the table. 

The Replacement was in his room. Planting bugs, going through his bags, messing with his guns.

Roy’s words echoed in his head. He trusts you. Even if it was true, the feeling was not mutual. Tim was a Bat before anything else. He knew because he had been the same once. 

He sped down the corridor, trying to remember if he’d left anything sensitive on the ship. He’d taken the majority of his things to his main Gotham safehouse when he’d arranged to spend a few weeks there. That should minimise some of the damage at least. 

When he got near to his door, he slowed down, listening for any movement. 

Nothing. 

He moved closer, but only when he was next to the door that Jason heard soft breathing from inside. Maybe Tim really was sleeping, Jason thought. 

Jason cracked the door silently, looking inside and catching a glimpse of dark hair and blue jeans. And shoes. On his bed. Unbelievable. 

Jason crept into the room to get a better view of the sleeping figure. Tim was curled on his side, one hand gripping the screwdriver that Jason had thrown at Kon earlier. But it was what was on the rest of the bed that made Jason’s blood start to boil. 

In several pieces, scattered over the sheets, was one of his helmets. 

Jason closed his eyes, going over all the reasons he couldn’t shoot Tim. When he opened them again, he grabbed a water bottle from the side and dumped the contents on Tim’s head.

“Up you get, Sleeping Beauty!” Jason threw the empty bottle at him for good measure. 

Tim yelled and bolted up. “Jason! What the fuck?”

“Yes, Replacement, what the fuck?” Jason replied, pointing at the pieces of red helmet.

Tim looked down to the bed and then back up to Jason. His expression went from confusion to embarrassment to defiant. “If you didn’t want anyone to look at it, you shouldn’t have just left it out.”

“You do have a death wish,” Jason said, making a move towards the bed. “I knew it.”

Tim leapt off the other side and pointed the screwdriver at Jason. “I can improve it, you know, there are some ways to improve the heat sensor.”

“Thanks for the tip, I’ll remember to have a look after I throw you out the airlock.”

Tim dropped his hand with screwdriver and sighed. “You’re not going to hurt me, Jason.”

“No I’m not going to hurt you, the ground forty thousand feet below is going to hurt you.”

“Jason, just stop.” Tim threw the screwdriver back on the bed. “You want me to apologise? Fine, I apologise. I will put the helmet back together, with it’s sub par heat sensor.”

Jason felt caught off guard. Tim had thrown his only weapon away whilst Jason was threatening to drop him to his death. The same Jason that actually had tried to kill him, more than once, and had hurt him. Badly.

He trusts you.

Jason felt lost for words. Tim seemed to take his silence as confirmation, as he leant over and started gathering the pieces. Water dripped from his face onto the sheets and Tim stood back up. He had discarded the pullover at some point and was wearing a loose black tshirt instead. Tim gripped the hem and pulled it up to his face, using it to wipe the water away. 

Jason saw the myriad scars littering his body, including a few Jason was responsible for. He also saw ribs protruding more than they should be. Jason had never really understood the reasons that Tim had become a vigilante, but it definitely wasn’t out of any concern for his own wellbeing. 

It wasn’t Jason’s problem anyway.

“Just so you know, I will be doing a full bug sweep on the ship the minute you get off,” Jason said, determined to make sure that Tim knew how welcome he was. “And if I find any then I will set fire to every apartment you own.”

Tim threw his hands up, exasperated. “Sweep away! You won’t find anything.”

“That’s not the same as ‘I didn’t plant anything,’” Jason said. 

“You’re overthinking.”

“You’re deflecting.” Jason moved round the bed towards Tim. “If the Bats start interfering with me, I will retaliate, Replacement.”

“I wouldn’t give anything to the Bats,” Tim said, and then froze. 

Jason took a second to process Tim’s words. “What’s that, babybird? Fallen out with dear old dad, have we?”

Tim dropped the pieces of the helmet back onto the bed and crossed his arms. “No one’s fallen out. I just have my own cases now. Dick’s in Bludhaven, Bruce has Damian, Steph’s gone to school. Cass is abroad. So I mainly work alone.”

Jason cocked his head as he looked at Tim, who was looking down at the fractured helmet.

“I guess I never considered it like that,” he said.

“Like what?” Tim asked, looking up at him.

“You got replaced.”

Tim’s jaw clenched. “Fuck you, Jason.”

“How did it feel, babybird?”

“Fuck you, Jason.”

“It’s not great for the self esteem is it? Turning up one day and finding your life occupied by someone else.”

“Fuck you, Jason.”

“The worst part is how everyone seems to forget so quickly that it was yours,” Jason continued, pushing into Tim’s space. “And no one cares.”

Tim punched Jason full across the face. “That’s what you think, is it? That everyone forgot you?” He shoved Jason back. “You’re an idiot.” Tim was breathing heavy. “Do you even know why I became Robin in the first place?”

“Because Bruce wasn’t finished building his child army?” Jason snapped.

“Because losing you broke him!” Tim shouted. “Because Batman needs Robin. Because of you.”

“Bruce can say whatever he likes but we all know that he preferred it when I was dead,” Jason yelled. 

“It was difficult for him when you came back –”

“Why are you defending him? He replaced you too!”

“It doesn’t matter about me, Bruce –”

“Why doesn’t it matter about you, Tim?” Jason’s anger was building fast. “Why doesn’t it matter than he threw you away? Why doesn’t it matter that he gave your life to someone else and left you with nothing?”

“You’re wrong, Jay, it’s not –”

“And you’re blind, Tim!” Jason yelled. “Look at you. You got replaced and just let it happen. I beat you more than half to death and you’re here! Your judgement is fucked, babybird. And Bruce doesn’t care about any of us!”

The floor lurched under them and threw them both against the wall, Tim trapped under Jason. The ship dropped a couple of feet and Jason grabbed hold of Tim with one arm and a hook on the wall with the other. 

The turbulence lasted less than a minute, but it was violent, and the hooked had bruised Jason’s hand badly from where he gripped it. 

When the shaking stopped, Jason realised he was still holding Tim close to him. Tim was looking up at him with that unreadable expression again and just as Jason tried to pull away, Tim stopped him.

“I forgave you, Jason,” he said quietly. “I know why you did it, and I forgave you.”

Jason couldn’t move. He couldn’t process what Tim had said. He just stared into the blue of Tim's eyes and tried to think.

For the briefest moment, his mind registered that he was so close to Tim, he could kiss him.

The thought made Jason jerk away. He left the room without another word.


	14. Chapter 13

Jason stormed through the ship, reeling from his encounter with Tim. There was too much to deal with. He felt angry, raw, confused. The argument had brought too much up. About Bruce, about what Jason had done, and what had been done to him.

Jason couldn’t think. He wanted to hit something, shoot something, anything that would make it stop.

His shoulder glanced off a metal support and he shoved himself away from it only to bash into another one. Jason kicked the metal and pushed himself away again only to come up against a wall. He smacked his hand against the side of it and felt the reverberation up his arm and across his chest. Jason’s broken ribs protested and the pain cut clear through the mess in his head so he hit the wall again.

Tim had no right to say any of that to him. No right to be on this damn ship. No right to touch his helmet. No right to defend Bruce. Nothing. None of it. Jason had died and when he came back – and Tim had been replaced too. It was fucked up. It was a fucking horror show and Tim acted like he just accepted it all. How could he not be furious? How could he – 

“Jay!” Roy shouted. “Jay, bud, stop, stop!”

Jason felt Roy’s hands on him, pulling him away from the wall. 

“Fuck,” Roy was saying. “Shit, Jay, come on, stop, come with me.”

Roy dragged Jason to a chair and pushed him down into it. Jason was still spinning and he barely registered Roy in front of him. He felt pain across his chest and down his arm, he couldn’t breathe. 

Roy took Jason’s hand and the pain shot through him so fast that Jason saw Roy clearly for the first time.

“What the fuck Roy?” Jason shouted. 

“Me what the fuck? What the fuck you, Jay?”

“You’ve got a funny fucking definition of no turbulence!”

“Turbulence? Jay, what does that have to do with this? Just stop and let me –”

“Get off me!” Jason said, pushing Roy away and jumping out of the chair. 

“Out of the path of turbulence, you said, so what the fuck happened? What kind of fucking pilot are you?”

“Jay, get a hold of yourself. It’s fucking airflow, it’s weather, it changes,” Roy tried to say as he followed Jason to his feet.

“Stop it, get away from me.”

“Jay, you’re bleeding, you’re not –”

“I said get away from me!”

“Jason, listen to Roy, please.”

Jason whirled around and saw Kori coming towards him. He was furious. What the fuck did they think they were doing?

“The next person that lays a hand on me is getting a bullet!” Jason went for where his holster should have been, but his hand closed on nothing. Another shooting pain went up Jason’s arm.

He didn’t have time to react when Kori grabbed both his arms and pushed him back against the wall.

“Stop, Jason, listen to us!”

“Let go of me! Kori!”

“Jason!” Kori yelled in face. “Jason, your eyes are green!”

“It’s the Pit, Jay, it’s the Pit,” Roy pleaded. “You gotta fight it!”

The Pit, Jason was sick of hearing about the fucking Pit. It made him crazy, it made him so angry, it never went away and, and, and it felt like this. 

That was enough. That tiny sliver of awareness was enough for Jason to grab hold and claw his way out of the rage that flooded him. Fighting it was like swimming against the tide, but Jason was stubborn. 

When he finally had it under control, he remembered he was not alone. 

Kori had him pinned, Roy was just behind her. They were both staring at Jason in shock.

“I’m alright,” he panted. “I’m alright now, I swear.”

Kori stood back, letting Jason’s arms drop. His hands smacked against the wall behind him and he hissed, looking down at his right hand. The knuckles were bloody. 

Jason let his head drop back against the wall. “Shit.”

“Jay, what happened?” 

“I don’t know, I don’t know, it just happened.” Jason closed his eyes.

He felt Kori’s fingers grip his jaw and turn his face to the side. 

“Did you do this, Roy?”

“No, no he was like this when I found him, he was –”

“Jason?”

Tim’s voice cut through Jason’s mind like lightning. His eyes snapped open and fixed on Tim stood in the doorway of the hangar. When had he come down to the hangar?

Before Jason could say anything, Roy spoke up. “Did you do this?”

Tim hesitated before replying. “We had an argument.”

Roy threw his hands up. “Are you kidding me? You can’t even be in the same place for two fucking hours?”

“It was a mistake.”

“Tim,” Kori interjected. “We’re landing soon. I think you should go back to the room until we do.”

Tim lingered in the doorway a little longer, but eventually turned and left. 

“Kori can you take the controls while I go get Jason patched up?”

Kori nodded. “Of course. Are you sure you’re alright now, Jason?”

“As good as I’m gonna get right now, I reckon.”

“Good enough for an Outlaw,” Kori smiled. 

“A damn luxury for us,” Jason scoffed. 

Jason and Roy left Kori outside the hangar and headed to the medbay. 

“You were in some state back there.” Roy started pulling out the various bits he needed to deal with Jason’s bloody hand. “Wanna tell me what happened?”

“Not really,” Jason said, hissing as Roy began cleaning the wound. “Replacement and I got in an argument, I got angry, and then you found me.”

“That was Pit rage, Jay. I thought all that shit was settled between you and Tim.”

“So did I. He just gets to me.”

“You’ve run into each other before, I mean it’s not like your bffs, but it wasn’t this.” Roy was prodding, Jason could tell, but he didn’t want to talk about it. 

“He just set me off, that’s all. I won’t let it happen again.” Jason leant back in the chair and closed his eyes again, letting himself detach from the pain.

“Famous last words,” Roy muttered.


	15. Chapter 14

Gotham welcomed Jason back like he’d never been away: he was slapped in the face with a thunderstorm as soon as they lowered the ramp. 

Looking at the water flooding the tarmac, he remembered the docks, the cave. He could barely believe that it had been only that morning that he’d broken out of that cave.  
It’d been one hell of a day. And it wasn’t even five o’clock. 

Jason wanted Chinese food. Greasy noodles, dumplings. A fortune cookie. He always hoped to get the one that said ‘help I’m trapped in a fortune cookie factory.’

He had spent the last twenty minutes of the flight I the medbay, half ashamed of the way he acted towards Roy and Kori and half avoiding his Replacement. 

Tim’s words wouldn’t stop replaying in Jason’s head, over and over. I forgave you.

Jason stood at the edge of the ramp, looking out at the abandoned industrial lot they’d landed on. It was on Jason’s territory so they were unlikely to be observed. Plus it was already a location that Tim knew belonged to Jason so he wasn’t worried about compromising the landing site. 

It was only a few streets over to a stash of his that had a bike in it, and from there only fifteen minutes to a safehouse. 

A hand clapped him on the shoulder. “Jay, buddy, are you sure you don’t want to stay on the ship?” Roy gestured out at the storm. “I mean, look at this.”

“This is a lovely spring day in Gotham and I’ve packed a picnic,” Jason deadpanned. 

“This city is weird and the people in it are weird,” Roy said, kneading Jason’s shoulder. Roy was a surprisingly tactile person. It had taken Jason a while to get used to it. 

“They should put that on city hall.”

“Well that would be easy, I reckon. A couple of carved stone slabs. I bet they wouldn’t even realise it’d been replaced.”

“There’s that genius again,” Jason smiled at Roy, catching a sly grin in return.

Jason didn’t have any bags, considering how he’d left the city that morning. And he hadn’t gone back for those pieces of his helmet.

Roy shouted over his shoulder into the ship. “Kori! Jason’s leaving us!”

A moment later, a blur of flaming hair and orange skin flew into view. “What will we do without you?” Kori said, pushing her way in between the two men and repositioning so that she had an arm around each of them.

“Watch Robin Hood?” Jason suggested. 

“I don’t like your tone, young man,” Roy shot back with mock sternness. 

“Your likes and dislikes are weird enough to make you an honorary Gothamite,” Jason said.

“Oh you take that back immediately!” Roy swatted at Jason around Kori, who picked the two up off the floor by their waists.

“Now, now boys!”

“Ribs! Kori!” Jason wheezed.

Kori dropped them with a gasp. “Jason, you’re injured?”

“It’s alright –”

“Don’t listen to him, Kor, he’s a lying liar who lies.” Roy froze for a second. “Hey, I’ve just thought of another movie I wanna watch!”

Jason pushed away from the two of them. “Right, that’s my cue. I’m getting out of here.”

“I know you love that film, Jay, you can’t hide from me!”

“Challenge accepted!”

“You’re on bud –”

“Maybe after we’ve dealt with the Greek god issue?”

The three Outlaws turned at the sound of Tim’s voice, only to see Red Robin stood in the doorway. 

“Thanks for the lift,” Tim said, walking down the ramp with his holdall. “I’ll contact you tomorrow to go over the case.” His tone was subdued again.

“Expecting trouble?” Roy asked. 

“I figured it was easier to cross the Red Hood’s territory as Red Robin than walk through as Tim Drake.”

Jason wasn’t sure what to say. He was drawing a blank. He didn’t want to just stand there silently. 

“You forgot your rucksack.”

Tim looked at him strangely and then gestured to the holdall. “It’s in here. Room for it without the suit.”

“Right.”

“Well this is awkward,” Roy announced. He wrapped an arm around Kori. “We’ll see you tomorrow Jay.”

“Yeah, tomorrow. I’ll call you in the morning.”

Jason watched Roy and Kori head back through the main doors. He walked down to the end of the ramp where Tim was stood and glanced back to see Roy hit the close function.

“You’re not staying on the ship?” Tim said. 

“Impressive detective work.” Jason started walking across the tarmac. 

“Just doing my job, ma’am.”

Jason shot Tim a bemused look. “Was that supposed to be a joke?”

Tim shrugged. 

“You’re not good at it,” Jason said. 

“Nobody’s perfect.”

“I feel attacked.”

They had reached the nearest buildings, and Tim pulled out his grapple gun. He looked up at Jason, frowning.

“I’m sorry about your face,” he said. 

“What, in general, or...?”

Tim barked a strained laugh. “No. I mean, I’m sorry specifically for punching you in the face.”

“Barely felt it,” Jason said, well aware of the red and purple decorating his jaw.

“Right,” Tim said. “Well, I guess I’ll talk to you guys tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Tomorrow.”

Tim waited a moment, but when Jason stayed silent, he fired the grapple and zipped up to the rooftops. 

Jason watched him go, that unsettled feeling creeping back in. He shook his head, wiping the rain off his face. All this time with his replacement had clearly thrown him off. 

Chinese food, he thought, as he walked the remaining distance to his bike. That was what he needed.  



	16. Chapter 15

A couple of hours later found Jason sitting at the back of his favourite Chinese, with the best steamed buns this side of crime alley. 

Jason wore a domino, his helmet on the chair beside him out of view, and practically inhaled the two-person special he’d ordered. The shop was empty – the Red Hood had that effect on people. The patrons inside on Jason’s arrival had quickly found an excuse to leave, and the newcomers suddenly wanted takeaway.

Four huddled figures stood just outside the doors, waiting for their orders.

Jason didn’t pay them any mind, his entire concentration was solely on the food in front of him, ignoring the voices in his head that wouldn’t shut up. He trusts you. I forgave you.  
I wouldn’t give anything to the Bats.

Even if Jason could believe everything else, he couldn’t believe that. 

The door chimed, another patron walked in. Jason heard the footsteps abruptly stop, but didn’t look up until the steps continued in his direction. 

A skinny fifteen year old kid plopped down on the chair opposite him, eyes on the near empty cartons on the table. 

“Can’t you see I’m eating, Ricky?”

“I can see that, Hood, I can. Looks good.” The kid grinned at him. He was already missing a couple of teeth. 

Jason put his chopsticks down with an exaggerated sigh, eyeing the homeless kid sat in front of him. 

Ricky had already been living on the street when the Red Hood had appeared, running with a gang of ineffective child pickpockets. Jason had given him and his friends access to an abandoned building he controlled during a bad winter a couple of years ago.

It was a good deal, generally. He could keep an eye on the underage users, and who was selling to them, and they had somewhere to go. He had never been deluded enough to think that crime could be eradicated, even with a bag full of heads – but control, power, being the biggest fish in the pond. It made a difference.

Occasionally, the kids even helped him out.

“What do you want?” Jason asked, flatly. 

“Oh, you know, figured you’d already know, but, er, I’m a little short on cash at the moment, so figured maybe you’d be willing to pay for a little information.”

“Never go into trade negotiation, Ricky. What information?”

“Well, word is, you see, there’saBathere,” Ricky garbled out and then sucked in a breath. 

God fucking dammit. Can he not have five fucking minutes, Jason thought, smacking his fist on the table.

Ricky jumped in his chair. “He was seen earlier – Red Robin – and I heard he –”

“Wait,” Jason said. “Red Robin?”

“Yes, yeah, that’s what they said, and that he –”

“I dealt with it,” Jason stated. Tim must have been seen heading away from the ship.

“Oh, oh right. Oh well cool, you know. You know. That’s good. Good.” Ricky was disappointed. No one paid for old news.

Jason was trying to figure out how to give him the money anyway without looking soft, when he registered what Ricky was saying.

“You know, cause I know, and the guys know, that those docks are yours, so of course, you know, gotta make sure you know. But you already know, so –”

“Ricky, the docks?” Jason demanded.

“Yeah. Yeah,” Ricky started, sensing a potential payday after all. “He was down by the docks. First he was far enough out but my guy swears he was here, looking around.”

Jason stood abruptly, pulling a couple hundred dollars out of his jacket. “Congratulations, Ricky, looks like you’ve done me the worst favour I could ever ask for.”

He handed fifty to Ricky but held on to the other bills. “I’m giving these to Michelle,” Jason said, nodding his head to the woman behind the counter. “You see it all gets to the house. I’ll know if doesn’t.”

Ricky nodded. “Yeah, of course! I got it Hood, I got it I swear.”

Jason left the money on the counter and left the shop, barely noticing a half dozen customers rushing back in out of the cold. The rain was light now, and with the helmet on again Jason barely felt it. 

He had other things to deal with now. Like whatever the fuck Tim was thinking.

The ride over to the docks was short, and there was no obvious sign of unwelcome visitors when Jason stashed his bike. 

It took him about twenty minutes to catch sight of a shadow moving between buildings, but that was enough. Jason stalked through the maze of industrial buildings, until he could manoeuvre himself into the shadow’s path. He stood in the centre of the alleyway and pulled his gun, aiming straight at Tim as he appeared round the corner.

“Replacement, you are not a smart man.”

Tim dropped into a defensive stance and had his staff in his hand before Jason had said a word, but relaxed once he registered Jason’s voice.

“Hood,” he called. “Didn’t expect to see you out here.”

“That’s my line, I think.” Jason’s tone wasn’t friendly, and the line of Tim’s jaw clenched in response.

“Are you going to keep pointing that gun at me?” 

“It’s generally effective against trespassers,” Jason said, unmoving.

“We’re working a case together,” Tim said, rolling his eyes. 

“Number one,” Jason started, “we absolutely are not. The Outlaws are dealing with a problem and we may decide to update other interested parties if we so fucking feel like it.”

“Hood –”

“Number two,” Jason said loudly, “You are creeping around my turf, alone, without my knowledge. That doesn’t strike me as the spirit of togetherness.”

Tim had the decency to look a little sheepish at that. “I just figured I’d take a look around, no one expects me back in Gotham yet so I’m not assigned to patrol, I didn’t think it was worth bothering you.”

“When reports come back to me of Bats flying around where they shouldn’t be, I get a little bothered.”

Tim sighed. “I get it, you don’t want me here. I still had a bit more to sweep, I’ve done the waterside, saw that boat by the way, narrowed down a couple of areas to check, I’ll be out of your hair in an hour.”

Jason considered Tim’s words, and then holstered his gun. “You know what, babybird? I stand by my first assessment. You are not a smart man.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re looking for Ra’s.”

“You said he was in town –”

“Not my point. You’re sneaking around the property of the guy who almost killed you, looking for the Head of the Demon, who has somehow picked a fight with a god. And no one knows you’re here.”

“It’s just recon.” Tim shook his head and started walking towards Jason. “Besides, you’re here now. Between us we can cover more ground.”

“Not. Working. Together.”

“Like you said, this area belongs to you, so you might notice something I don’t.” Tim came to a stop in front of Jason. “It won’t take long.”

“Replacement, I am this fucking close to –”

“Move!” Tim shouted, shoving into Jason’s side and sending him staggering. Pain flashed across his chest. Ribs took forever to heal. 

Jason didn’t let it slow him down as he pulled both his handguns out and spun around, scanning the area for threats.

A movement at the end of the alley caught his eye and bullets erupted without hesitation. He moved to Tim’s side, keeping his aim but checking around them, the rooftops, the windows, the piles of junk. 

“What did you see?” Jason asked Tim as he looked around.

“Assassin,” Tim gasped. “One of Ra’s’, the one from Morocco.”

“You saw her?”

“Not clearly. But I’m pretty sure this is her knife.”

Jason snapped his attention to Tim, eyes immediately drawn to the subtly decorated knife. 

Sticking out of Tim’s chest. 


	17. Chapter 16

“Shit.”

Jason’s mind raced. Tim was hurt. Jason needed to get him out. They were under attack. The alley was too exposed. There was a League assassin. There could be more.

Jason flung an arm around Tim and pulled him into his side, launching them both behind the nearest pile of junk big enough to give them cover. 

He felt Tim give no resistance as he twisted so Jason would hit the ground first, cushioning Tim’s fall, and keeping the knife clear. Jason placed Tim on the ground next to him and bolted up, letting a few bullets go towards the end of the alley. He needed to buy time before the assassin decided to get up close and personal. 

Dropping back down to Tim, he saw Tim’s hand wrapped around the hilt.

“No, don’t take it –”

Tim yanked the knife out.

“Out.” Jason finished.

“I’m fine,” Tim panted. “I’m fine.”

Blood welled through the tear in his armour. 

“That is not fine!” Jason knocked Tim’s hands aside and bent to examine the wound.

“Jason, Jason, it’s fine, it didn’t go deep, my chest plate stopped it. It’s not bad, I can tell,” Tim protested as Jason manhandled him.

When he looked, he could see the blood wasn’t flowing as much as he’d first thought. The wound wasn’t so deep. But it wasn’t nothing, either. 

Jason pulled a small cap out of his jacket and cracked the end open, pouring the contents into the tear.

“Glue?,” Tim asked.

“It should hold until we get out of here,” Jason replied. “Can you move?”

Tim sat up, breathing hard, and wincing. “Winded, but fine.”

Jason nodded. He glanced around them, searching for any sign of movement. Nothing. If the assassin wanted to kill them, she would have been on top of them by now. Which meant that she had something else planned.

“If we head back, we’re likely walking into a trap,” Jason said. “If we go after her, we’ll likely end up cornered.”

“Onto the roof?” Tim asked.

“They’ll expect it.” Jason looked up the side of the warehouse. “But that might work.”

Tim followed his gaze to a fractured window in the side of the warehouse. 

“When we get through, we start running. You follow me,” Jason commanded. “You ready?”

“Let’s go.”

Jason aimed his grapple and fired it over the top of the building, whipping up with Tim wrapped around him. He heard a burst of running footsteps on the roof and he pushed against the wall to swing them out. As they started to swing back Jason hit retract and sent them flying through a shower of broken glass.

Tim let go as they fell, pushing far enough away for them both to roll as they landed and propel themselves into a sprint across the empty floor. Tim dropped in behind Jason as he led them through a broken fire exit on the far side and into the next alley.

Jason plotted out their route as they ran straight through into the next building. He needed to know where the assassin was and how many others were involved. 

The only way to draw them all out was to be visible, so Jason cut across the floor to a concrete stairway and crashed through the door onto the roof.

He spotted three figures on the next roof over, drew his gun and fired without slowing. One went down.

Tim’s footsteps were still behind him and Jason ran on, leaping the short gap between this roof and the next. 

Jason needed an advantage. Open ground, where he could shoot and they couldn’t hide.

They were too far from the nearest landing strip, his bike was probably compromised, there weren’t any boats fast enough in the marina. It was nothing but warehouses here. 

The two remaining shadows fell behind as Jason took a sharp turn and swung down scaffolding at the side of the building. Running along the wooden walkway, the scaffolding triggered an idea and Jason threw a glance back to Tim.

“Grapple!” Jason shouted, hoping that Tim heard.

He saw the end of the walkway and pulled his grapple out again, leaping clean off the edge of the scaffold and firing off at the next building. 

Zipping upwards, he saw another line hit beside him as Tim followed. They tumbled over the top of the next warehouse and Jason took off again. He could see his destination now.

The metal skeleton of an abandoned building. If they could get high enough, Jason would have a clear view of anyone coming after them and a chance to take them out before they made it up. 

He pushed himself to run faster, flying across the gaps between buildings as they closed in on it. 

Jason yelled over his shoulder again as they neared the last jump. “Aim high!”

He threw his grapple out as he launched himself into the air, the rope catching and swinging him towards the metal latticework of beams. 

A moment later, Tim’s line followed and they soared up the side of the hollow building. Jason dropped onto a beam and turned to see Tim land one across from him. 

Swapping his grapple for his other handgun, he searched the route they had come for the assassins. The two figures following them were two buildings away now. 

Jason aimed and fired but the two dodged and kept coming. He sent more shots at them until one jerked and went down, the other not slowing.

“Jason!” Tim yelled from across the way. “Two more!”

Jason turned to see two more assassins leap onto the beams far below them and whipped his guns round to aim at the rapidly climbing pair. A bullet grazed one but they didn’t stop.

Jason heard the sound of metal on metal and saw a cable wrapped around the beam he was standing on. He sprinted to the crossbeam to get a view of the assassin scaling it and fired. The figure dropped without a sound.

Jason saw Tim toss a batarang towards the beam directly beneath him and leapt back a few steps just as another cable flew past to catch on the one above. 

Jason ran along to get a view of the climber when the cable went taught. An assassin swung up between them and landed opposite Tim. The assassin dived at him and met Tim’s bowstaff with a short blade - Jason couldn’t get a clear shot.

Jason turned to dash back to the crossbeam and was faced with a figure climbing up on his far side. Ra’s’ bald-headed bodyguard. Jason fired but the assassin practically danced along the beam, avoiding every shot. Snarling, Jason sprinted down the crossbeam before there could be two assassins between him and Tim.

Ra’s’ bodyguard leapt onto the crossbeam and stopped in front of Jason. He could still hear the sounds of Tim fighting behind him but all his attention was on the giant henchman. 

“Where is Ra’s al Ghul?” he howled as he launched himself at Jason. 

Jason got a couple of shots off, one bullet grazing the assassin’s leg and another lodging in his arm, before the man collided with him. The weight threw Jason back and he twisted to throw the assassin off the beam, but the man gripped his jacket hard. They both plunged off the edge. 

Jason flung his arms out to catch the next beam down, the assassin beside him, and scrambled up onto it as the bodyguard righted himself. Knives flew towards him in quick succession and he crouched and contorted himself to avoid the first two. The third sliced along his stomach but thankfully didn’t embed itself, falling away. The fourth glanced off his shoulder, his reinforced jacket protecting him. 

The bodyguard roared and followed after his knives, barrelling into Jason and forcing him back along the beam until his was pinned against the support column.

“Where is Ra’s al Ghul?” the henchman spat again.

“Fuck you.”

Jason kicked out and caught the bodyguard’s knee, feeling it give. The assassin staggered a step and Jason pushed forward, driving the man over the edge. He still had hold of Jason’s jacket and Jason was yanked down, smacking his helmet hard on the metal. He gripped onto the beam to stop himself falling further. The sudden stop ripped Jason’s jacket from the assassin’s fingers and the bodyguard disappeared out of sight. 

Another figure dropped onto the beam. Jason tried to stand but the world spun around him. He caught a flash of red and black and then Tim was at his side, pulling him upright. 

“We have to get out of here.”


	18. Chapter 17

“Can you get down?” Tim had already started to position himself to take Jason’s weight for the drop to the ground.

“I’m fine,” Jason said as he groped at his jacket for his grapple. Whatever Tim saw in his movements caused him to take the gun out of his hands, and before Jason could protest, Tim wrapped his leg around Jason’s and tipped them both off the edge. 

The wind rushing up did nothing to help Jason clear his head, and he staggered when they landed. He tried to focus on the ground, willing his brain to adjust.

“Jason, hold on.” Tim put his hands on Jason’s shoulders and drew Jason in front of him. A second later, Jason felt the catch on his helmet go and the Red Hood was pulled away form him. 

His vision began to clear.

“Compression,” Tim said. “You should feel better.”

Jason’s vision cleared enough to be able to focus on Tim looking up at him, the blue of his eyes offset by the blood on his face.

“Thanks, babybird.”

Tim held his gaze for a fraction longer, before turning away. “We have to go. I’m assuming your bike is closer than mine?”

Jason blamed his knock on the head for the time it took him to understand what Tim had said. “You can’t come with me.”

“You can’t go alone, you’re injured.”

“Check a mirror, Replacement.”

“That’s not helping your case.”

“We’ve both had worse.”

Tim rolled his eyes. “I know the ship isn’t where it dropped me off anymore and I know that Arsenal and Starfire are onboard. You’re on your own, so I am coming with you.”

“You are not.”

“Walk in a straight line and I’ll consider letting you go.”

Jason paused. His vision was clearer, but he was still in bad shape. There was no guarantee that he could ride his bike out of here. If he called Roy and Kori, he’d be waiting a while. Who knew how many League members were here.

Jason turned and started back towards his bike. “This day cannot get any worse.” 

“I can think of six ways it could get worse before we leave this alley,” Tim deadpanned, following after him.

“I can think of six ways you’re being a pain in the arse.”

Jason led Tim to his bike. He’d deny walking into two walls on the way there.

When Jason pulled his keys out of his pocket, Tim stole them out of his palm and batted his hand away, sliding onto the seat and starting the engine without a word.

Jason stood there dumbly, watching his Replacement attempt to boss him around like it was nothing. Like Jason would just fall in line. Like a good soldier. They were all the damn same, the Bats. They all believed that they knew best, they had all the answers. They couldn’t fucking allow for different points of view. For the damn reality of a situation. 

“Get off,” Jason said.

Tim looked round at him, confused. “You can’t drive.”

“Get off my goddamn bike, Replacement.” Jason stepped forward and tried to haul Tim over, not caring that he was close to losing his balance.

“Jason, for fuck’s sake,” Tim yelled as he struggled out of Jason’s grip. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I am so fucking sick of you all acting like you should be obeyed without question like some fucking overlords!” Jason shouted. “I don’t want your help! I don’t need your help! I am fucking fine on my own!”

Tim pushed away from Jason and climbed off the bike. “What are you talking about? You have a head injury! You cannot physically drive!”

“I’m talking about you fucking barging into my case and my docks and my life and acting like you know it all! It’s always the same and I’ve fucking had it! I’m not your sidekick!” 

Jason struck out and his hand collided with the metal lean-to, blood seeping through the bandages that Roy fixed earlier.

“What were you thinking?” Tim said as Jason inspected his hand, hissing.

“Oh fuck you, Replacement.”

“No, Jason, not ‘what were you thinking,’ what were you literally thinking? What are you thinking right now?”

“Trying to psychoanalyse me, babybird? Why don’t you have me locked up in the loony bin again? Get the professionals to confirm I’m incompetent.”

“Just, stop. Just give me a second, please? Listen to me?” Tim stayed an arm’s length from Jason but his tone was softer, less defensive.

Jason didn’t say anything. He didn’t know how to react to that kind of plea.

“Just, tell me if I have this right,” Tim continued. “I told you you were injured, and I wasn’t going to let you just disappear without trying to help – since it was my fault you got involved back there anyway – and you saw me taking over your case and generally acting like you couldn’t handle it by yourself? Is that it?”

Jason felt his anger simmer a little as he listened to Tim’s words. “I know you all wish I wasn’t in Gotham.”

Tim sighed. “They don’t, Jay. I don’t.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Look, I’m sorry. I know I can be overbearing. I know that. But I really just wanted to make sure you weren’t concussed and alone. That you weren’t driving with a head injury. I don’t think you’re incompetent. Or crazy. I think you’ve been through a fuck ton of shit and you’re angry about it. I also think that anger has a hair trigger reflex when it comes to B, and anyone around him, and I should have known that. I should have thought about it. But I didn’t, and I did barge in and I did just assume we could work together. But it’s obviously different for you, because to you I’m just another Bat, so of course you don’t want me around. So I’m sorry, I really am. And I will back off, from this case. If that’s what you want. But please, please just let me drive right now because you have a head injury, and I can help. Please let me help?

Jason was stunned. Tim was right. He was overbearing. But Jason could see bits of truth in the other things he’d said as well. And Jason did have a head injury, it seemed. It couldn’t hurt to let someone trained take a look.

He looked at Tim, standing there silently, waiting for Jason’s reaction, unsure which way this was going to go. 

“That was some kind of speech there, Coach,” Jason started. “Did they teach you that in San Francisco or do you just practice in your own time?”

Tim huffed out a laugh, some of the tension leaving him. “I was being sincere!”

“I believe you. Hell I want to point you at the Gotham Knights. Maybe they’d actually win a game for a change.”

“And pigs could fly, sure.” Tim grinned.

Jason rolled his eyes, which hurt a little, and started moving towards the bike. “Fine, babybird, you can drive. This one time.”


	19. Chapter 18

The journey to Jason’s safehouse was mainly silent, save for Jason’s directions. Tim drove them straight into Jason’s storage unit, cut the engine and then waited.

“Jason,” he said after a second. “You have to let go.”

Jason came back to himself with a start, his arms wrapped around Tim’s waist. He wasn’t sure when they’d ended up there.

He released Tim and pushed off the bike, his balance better but not perfect. Tim was there again, arranging himself at Jason’s side to keep him steady.

“Do you still remember your passcodes or are we going to have to break in?” Tim said as they emerged from the storage unit into the backstreet behind Jason’s building.

“What have I said about you making jokes, Replacement?” 

“That I should give up career as a vigilante for stand-up comedy.” 

“It’s not that bad a head injury.” Jason fished into his pocket for the keys to the ground floor door, and pointedly looked back along the path they’d come.

Tim got the hint and looked the other way as Jason unlocked the trick padlock and the door, and disabled the alarm inside, hiding the panel back behind the gap in the plaster.

There were a couple more alarms on the way up to his main safehouse. The apartment block had previously been a drug lab belonging to a rival, which Jason had decimated. Its reputation coupled with its location in a notorious part of Gotham meant that Jason had kept it for himself with little argument. 

He’d taken a floor near the top – enough room to give him warning if someone tried to break in from the roof, but close enough for him to get out that way if they came in from the ground.

They were both quiet on the way up. Jason wasn’t sure why Tim was silent but Jason was concentrating very hard on climbing the stairs.

When they finally made it into Jason’s apartment, Tim directed Jason to the sofa.

“Please sit down? Let me get the med kit?”

“Bathroom,” Jason muttered as he sank onto the couch, relieved to not concentrate so hard on staying up. He rested his head against the back of the couch, closing his eyes. 

Sometimes it was just so nice to sit the fuck down, Jason thought.

“Jason!” 

Jason jerked his eyes open to the see the source of the offending noise stood over him with a large box.

“What now?” Jason sighed, not moving.

“I have to check you before you sleep. You have a head injury.”

“I wasn’t asleep. I was resting my eyes.”

“I’m serious, Jay. Here, drink this,” Tim said, putting a water bottle in Jason’s hands.

“Aren’t you always?” Jason replied, taking the water nonetheless.

Tim hummed in what could have been agreement, as he started taking out what he needed from the large toolbox Jason kept his supplies in. A second later he handed Jason painkillers as well – Jason didn’t need to be told to take those.

“Can I look at your head?” Tim asked.

“Knock yourself out,” Jason said.

“Funny,” Tim said, moving closer to Jason on the couch. 

Jason felt Tim’s hands come up to face and gently run a wet flannel over his domino, peeling it off when the glue dissolved.

Tim leaned over Jason as he ran his fingers over Jason’s head, looking for anything that could indicate a more severe injury. Jason could feel Tim’s breath against his temple, the delicate touch ghosting across his skin, and had to fight to suppress a shiver. 

Stealing a glance at Tim’s face while he worked, he saw that Tim was still wearing his own domino. His blue eyes were focused on the task. Jason had never seen a blue like it. Deep and bright, at the same time. Like light from the sea.

Tim leant back. “Just a concussion, thankfully.”

“I could have told you that,” Jason scoffed. 

“Yeah, yeah. Now can I check the others?”

“Other what?”

“Jason, you’re bleeding,” Tim gestured at Jason’s stomach.

Jason looked down and saw dark stains. There was no way he was going to admit that he forgot he was stabbed. He looked back up at Tim.

“Barely,” he said.

Tim grimaced. “Please let me look anyway?”

Jason shrugged. “Have at it.”

He pulled his jacket off and pulled his Kevlar-reinforced shirt over his head. There was an echo of pain, but the drugs were doing their job.

He heard Tim hiss. “Fuck, Jay, you need better armour.”

“Fuck yourself, Replacement, my stuff is fine,” Jason shot back immediately.

Tim groaned quietly. “I didn’t mean that, I just – this looks bad.”

“The ribs were like that before.”

“Ribs take time to heal –”

“Who has the time,” Jason waved. 

“Well maybe now I’m here you can find the time.” Tim said.

“Sure thing, babybird.” Jason said, his mind already wandering again.

Jason felt hands working over his chest and stomach as Tim started to work, cleaning the wounds and stitching where needed. The painkillers separated Jason from what was being done, and he drifted under Tim’s ministrations, enjoying the numbed sensation of fingers running over him. After finishing with the stab wounds, Tim began spreading a liberal amount of salve for the bruising across his chest. Jason enjoyed the massage until the hands left him.

“Alright, done for now,” Tim was saying.

“Already?” Jason said without thinking.

“They were fairly clean wounds, easy to stitch. I only had to use strips on the one on your shoulder,” Tim explained. “I’ve put a thick salve on for the bruising so once that’s absorbed I’ll wrap the ribs.”

“Sounds good Doctor.”   
Tim disappeared and then reappeared holding clothes, Jason’s sweats.

“Your jeans are soaked,” Tim said, handing Jason the clothes.

Jason put them on the couch next to him and started to undo his zipper. Tim turned abruptly and went to the kitchen for more water. 

Tim returned when he had the new clothes on, handing Jason another bottle.

As Jason took it, he looked up and saw Tim was still in his suit, but he had peeled off his own mask. Jason’s eyes drifted lower as he took in the design and then –

Fucking hell. He forgot Tim had been stabbed.  



	20. Chapter 19

Jason leant forward and focused hard, bringing back some alertness, before looking back up at Tim.

“Your turn, babybird.”

Tim’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”

“Turnabout’s fair play. Sit down.”

“Jason, I’m not sure –”

“Sit down. It’s a concussion. I can clean a damn stab wound.” Jason started sorting through the bits Tim had pulled out of his med kit on the table. 

Tim sat down next to him. 

“Off,” Jason said, gesturing at Tim’s gear.

Tim unclipped his cape and gauntlets, but when he started to pull on his chestplate he gasped.

“Hold on, hold on,” Jason said, leaning over to pour a solution into the stab wound. “This’ll dissolve the glue.”

Jason waited a second and then felt for the edges of the late, pulling it gently away. Underneath, a mass of coagulated blood soak Tim’s shirt and clung to his armour. 

“Not deep, huh?” Jason said wryly as his fingers slipped under Tim’s shirt and started to peel it up. Tim’s stomach tensed under Jason’s hands and he suddenly thought he didn’t know if Tim had taken painkillers. He tried his best not to make it any more painful but the blood was holding the shirt fast to the edges of the wound.

Jason paused and found the painkillers, handing them and his half-drank bottle to Tim. “Take these. This is going to hurt.”

Without waiting for a reply, Jason went back to peeling the shirt away. Tim was breathing hard, but didn’t move. 

As the glue dissolved, half-coagulated blood oozed down Tim’s chest. Jason grabbed another flannel and poured the rest of the water over it, using it to start wiping the blood away. 

One by one, Jason revealed all the scars he’d glimpsed before. Where he wasn’t marked, Tim’s skin was clear, pale. He figured that Tim, like Jason himself, must wax his chest for the armour. Or maybe he was just naturally hairless. 

Tim’s stomach was still tensed under his fingers, and Jason kept his touch light as he got closer to the wound itself. He took his time irrigating inside the puncture, looking for anything that might complicate closing it up. He’d have to do internal stitches on the muscle and on the skin, and then a final set on the surface, but the blade hadn’t gone further than that.

The work took the best part of an hour, and keeping his mind so focused was beginning to wear on Jason. He felt the edges of a headache creeping in.

When Jason had finally finished the stitches, sprayed the wound with disinfectant and covered it with gauze taped into place, he sat back and stretched his neck.

Tim had his eyes closed, stretched out so Jason could work. He might have looked peaceful if it weren’t for the way his hands clenched and his breathing so controlled. 

“Done,” Jason said.

Tim opened his eyes and stayed still for a moment, just looking at Jason.

“It wasn’t that bad, was it?” Jason said.

Tim pushed himself up to sit beside Jason. “No, it wasn’t that bad.”

“You can grab some clothes for yourself and go to sleep.” Jason waved in the direction of the bedroom. 

“What about you?” Tim asked. 

“I need to be awake for another two hours and then I can sleep.”

“You know, as long as the patient is lucid, they don’t keep concussed patients awake anymore.”

“Yes but then someone has to wake them up very two hours and I want to actually fucking sleep. I’d rather stay awake for a bit longer and then pass out properly.”

Tim nodded. “Fair enough.” 

Tim walked slowly towards the bedroom but paused in the doorway. He turned and met Jason’s questioning look. “Thank you, Jason.”

He didn’t wait for a reply and disappeared into the other room. 

Jason took a couple more painkillers and grabbed a bag from the kitchen, sweeping all the evidence of their medical escapades away for incineration later. 

He needed a task to keep him awake for a couple of hours. 

As he looked around his eyes landed on his and Tim’s blood-soaked armour, and his guns on the table. 

That’ll do, he thought.

The familiar ritual of cleaning his guns is soothing. His hands moved automatically so his mind emptied. The Kevlar needed a bit closer attention, and the tear in his jacket needed a patch, but these were all motions Jason had been through before. 

When he turned his attention to Tim’s gear, the catches and materials are a novelty, and Jason’s mind took in the make and design. It’s good, but of course it would be, he thought.

Jason picked up the chest plate and began the task of cleaning all the congealed blood from the inside. Tim had been lucky that Jason had had the glue on him, but he’d bled a lot regardless. He shouldn’t have been out there alone.

Finishing the inside, Jason flipped it over and saw the Red Robin sigil in the centre. He ran his fingers over the design, tracing the bird and the medallion, and his own words came back to him.

You got replaced too. How did it feel babybird?

You don’t even know why I became Robin in the first place.

He trusts you.

Jason tossed the plate back onto the sofa. He didn’t hate Tim. He knew that. But even after all this time it was still raw. Jason had died. And instead of someone protecting his memory, even holding on to it, Bruce had carried on as if it hadn’t changed a thing. He’d let the piss-poor excuse for a man who killed him run free to do it again and again. And then he’d put another kid in his suit and sent him out to fight.

He looked down at the Red Robin sigil again.

Maybe Tim had been the only one holding on to his memory.

No, he shook his head. Tim had done it for Bruce. To help his hero with the fight. 

Jason wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

He stood again and looked at the clock, confident that he could get some rest now. It was easier to walk without knocking into things but Jason still had to carefully pick his way into the next room. 

Tim was curled on his side on the far side of the bed, leaving plenty of space on the rest of the king.

Why the fuck not, he thought, toeing off his boots and lying down. It’s my bed.

As he lay there, feeling sleep wash over him, he could hear the sound of Tim’s breathing, feel the warmth seeping through the blankets. 

No, he thought. I don’t hate him.  



	21. Chapter 20

Jason had learnt over the years that waking up was something that had to be done quickly and quietly. So he became aware quite abruptly of an unusual situation.

Jason was on his side, on the bed. There were legs tangled with his own, and a hand resting next to his chest. A deep, rhythmic breathing filled the space between him and his apparent companion. 

Opening his eyes, Jason saw Tim curled towards him, head on the far edge of his pillow, as if he had tried to get as close as possible without crossing that boundary. Tim’s hair was mussed, a little falling over his face. 

Jason thought he looked peaceful, like this. No blank stare, no frown. Just pale skin, and bags under his eyes, now that Jason looked. Jason knew that Tim didn’t focus much on his own wellbeing, but he was starting to understand the extent of it. 

He had to get up, however, as he had drunk two bottles of water before going to bed and his bladder was starting to protest. 

He slid his legs out from Tim’s and rolled away gently, walking silently out of the room down to the bathroom. As he was washing his hands he examined himself in the mirror. He still had bruising on his face, but what else was new. 

It was when he lifted his shirt that he saw the rest of it. His chest was a Rorschach of deep purple bruising, the areas around his knife wounds even darker. Jason prodded a couple of ribs and winced. He did, however, notice that the effects of the concussion had lessened considerably. 

Workplace hazard, he thought wryly, before going in search of more painkillers. 

In the main room, Jason saw evidence of someone up in the night. Tim, he hoped. He wasn’t sure who else would make coffee at too-fucking-early am.

Jason set about making a fresh pot and poking about in the fridge. And was reminded that he needed groceries. He wished he’d been able to take leftovers from the Chinese. 

He had enough for loaded omelettes. That would do.

A few minutes into his prep and an alarm started up, but it wasn’t one that Jason recognised. He followed the sound of shrill chirping until he found the source: Tim’s phone.

Jason grabbed it to make the noise stop but saw it wasn’t an alarm. It was a call. 

Alfred. 

Jason wasn’t a teenager and therefore did not describe his relationships as complicated.

But Alfred. His relationship with Alfred was difficult at times. The times where they met, or spoke, or interacted in any way. 

Standing here, now, in the peace of his own space, Jason could say without reservation that he loved Alfred as family. Always would.

But Alfred would always choose Bruce, over everyone and everything. Alfred looked after Bruce like it was his life’s purpose. He could disagree with him, argue with him, but Jason was pretty confident that Bruce could never go too far when it came to Alfred. 

Jason was fully aware that Alfred’s love for Bruce could exist together with his love for Jason, and yet it was hard to reconcile that with Alfred’s undying loyalty to the man he had practically raised. 

It was hard not to let that little voice start whispering that Alfred still supported Bruce after everything that had happened. That Alfred enabled Bruce. 

Jason would never stop loving the man that had welcomed an underage thief into his home not just without a second thought, but with a real care and effort to make it Jason’s home. 

It would always be hard to see Alfred and remember, the good and the bad. 

The phone went silent in Jason’s hand. He was about to put it down when it started up again. 

Jason steeled himself, and hit answer.

“Master Tim? Are you –”

“Alfred.”

Time stretched out as Jason waited. 

“Master Jason?” Alfred said, more cautiously. 

“Yeah.”

“I dialled Master Tim, I believe.” Alfred’s voice went distant for a moment, and Jason could imagine him holding the phone away from his ear so he could see the caller ID. 

“You did.”

“I see. Is he with you?”

“Yeah. We’re, uh, he’s working on a case with me.”

“On a case? In Gotham?”

“Yeah.”

“I was calling because I heard he’d left San Francisco. I didn’t know he’d returned early.”

“He hitched a lift with me, I was going that way.”

“That’s very good of you, Master Jason.”

Jason didn’t reply.

“I was calling to see if he had returned. I expect that he has not thought about food items in any great detail. I was going to pay him a visit with a few things.”

“Alright, I’ll, er, I’ll let him know.”

“I’ll be over this morning. Around ten, I expect.”

“Sure.”

“I was thinking about making another Victoria Sandwich. Perhaps I can bring you one, at the same time, if you’re working a case together.”

“You don’t have to –”

“It’s no trouble, Master Jason. I always found it a little easier to make them than you, as I recall.” Alfred’s tone took on a hint of teasing.

“I had a couple of successful attempts.” Jason remembered a couple of edible attempts. And several collapsed ones. 

“You did indeed, I’m sure you could still do so now.”

“Not a huge amount of time for baking, these days.”

“No, I suppose not.” The teasing was replaced with sadness.

“I’ll let Tim know you called.”

“Thank you, Master Jason.”

“Well I’ll –”

“Before you go, let me ask – are you both well?”

Jason thought about his cracked ribs, concussion, knife wounds, and Tim’s bruises and the knife that had recently stuck out of his chest. 

“Yeah, we’re both fine.”

“Glad to hear it.”

“How about you, Alf?”

“As ever, Master Jason. All the better for speaking to you.”

Jason hummed in response. “Well, I gotta go, so, I’ll pass on your message. Talk to you later, Alf.”

“Take care, Master Jason.”

Jason hung up and stared blankly at the phone in his hand. He loved Alfred, he did. But it still hurt sometimes. 

Sometimes, love just wasn’t enough. 

Putting the phone back on the table, Jason turned back to his kitchen and tried to dispel memories of a different one, with a different version of himself, convincing the closest thing he had to a grandfather to teach him to make the perfect Victoria Sandwich, so he could eat the end result. 

By the time he’d baked the thick omelette, Jason had lost his appetite. 


	22. Chapter 21

Jason left the food covered on the side, poured two cups of black coffee and went back to the sleeping figure in his bedroom. 

He wondered briefly what Tim’s relationship with Alfred was like. He couldn’t imagine Tim baking, that was for sure. 

He set one of the cups on Tim’s side of the bed before crossing back to his and sitting with his back against the wall and his legs stretched out. 

Tim had barely moved from where Jason had left him, but a couple of minutes after he sat down, he felt a hand resting lightly next to his leg. 

Jason couldn’t see the bandage through the shirt that Tim had gotten from Jason’s drawers, but the lack of blood seeping through gave Jason confidence that his work had held. He still wanted to get a look at it properly. 

Tim had shoved Jason aside and taken a knife to the chest. Jason, who had tried to kill Tim and badly injured him on more than one occasion. Tim had forgiven him for these actions. Tim had somehow decided to trust Jason. None of it made sense. Jason had not done anything to explain it. He’d stayed as far away from the Bats as possible and dealt with his own shit. On the rare occasions Jason ran into them, his methods usually caused an amount of disagreement.

Maybe that was just the kind of person Tim was. Maybe this had very little to do with Jason and more to do with some innate need of Tim’s to forgive. Maybe Tim didn’t care enough to hold onto the hate. Maybe people had tried to kill him so often that it just wasn’t a big deal. 

Jason didn’t realise he was staring until Tim opened his eyes. 

He quickly tried to come up with a non-creepy explanation for watching Tim sleep but came up short. It was a fucking weird thing to do. 

Thankfully, Tim chose not to bring it up.

“Is that coffee?”

“Rollover,” Jason replied. 

Tim frowned and rolled to look behind him. He caught sight of the mug and started pushing himself up. A second later he sat back against the wall next to Jason, coffee in hand.

“I’d wake up like this any day,” Tim mumbled, taking a sip.

“Should I leave you alone with that then?”

Tim coughed, clearly failing to drink coffee like a normal human, and cleared his throat. “Shut up.”

“So articulate in the morning.”

Tim just groaned. 

Jason chuckled and took another sip from his own mug. 

“Your phone rang.”

“Mmmm?” Tim was either still mostly asleep or his relationship with coffee was monogamous.

“Your phone rang. I answered it.”

“What?” Tim’s attention was all on Jason now.

“I answered it. It was Alfred.”

“Oh.”

“He’d heard you were back in Gotham.”

“Right.”

This was not the reaction Jason expected. Tim seemed subdued again, as he had when Jason had met him in San Francisco.

“He’s bringing you food. Soon. I can drop you back.”

“Thanks,” Tim said, with a fleeting smile. “How’s your head? And the stitches?”

“Better,” Jason said. “The walls have stopped moving. And the stitches held. You do good work, Replacement.”

“Do you have to call me that?”

“It’s pretty much automatic now. Replacement.”

Tim huffed and Jason laughed again.

“And what about my excellent medical work?”

Tim put a hand under his shirt and felt where the bandage was on his chest. 

“Sore, but seems to be fine.”

“Of course. My stitches put most surgeons to shame.”

Tim rolled his eyes. “Sure.” 

Jason swung his legs off the bed and stood up. “Come on then babybird. Or you’ll have to deal with Alfred’s disappointed face. And so will I. And that is not something I will do for anyone.”

Jason walked back into the other room, his stomach reminding him that he had breakfast waiting for him. He pulled out plates and cutlery and set up two servings on the counter. 

A few minutes later Tim emerged from the bedroom, frowning again.

“Whatever that is, it smells good.”

“It’s breakfast, babybird and it’s getting cold.”

Tim took a few steps towards the kitchen and stopped, looking intently at the counter.

“Is that – is that for me?”

“No I just always eat off two plates because I love washing up.” Jason looked at Tim with bemusement. “You are familiar with the concept of breakfast, right?”

“Yeah,” Tim breathed out. “Yeah, I guess I just haven’t woken up yet.”

“No shit Sherlock.”

Tim perched on the stool next to Jason and picked up a fork. He looked at the large slice of omelette with a dazed expression, and Jason was considering just eating it himself when Tim finally started eating.

“This is actually good.” The surprise in Tim’s tone reminded Jason that people saw him in one particular way. 

“Nothing builds an appetite like executing druglords,” Jason bit out. 

Tim tensed beside him. “I didn’t mean to sound so surprised, I just, I don’t really know how to cook. I only eat stuff like this when Alfred comes round.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “It’s a damn omelette, babybird.”

“It’s more than I can do.”

“Then there’s no hope for you.”

Tim grinned and started eating again. “I guess I’ll have to come steal your food.”

“Fucking try it.”

“Thanks, I will.”

“You have a death wish.”

“I have a need for good food.”

“Well it’s a good thing Alfred is coming to save your arse, then.” Jason stood up and dumped his empty plate in the sink. “Finish up, we gotta make a move.”

Tim was clearly being a contrary little shit, Jason thought, as he took his time with his breakfast. He figured that once he had dropped Tim off, Jason would head out and meet up with the Outlaws, try and get a line on their divine problem.

Jason grabbed his clothes and holstered his guns, hidden under his jacket, he had a domino slipped in his inner pocket for emergencies. During the day, the hood drew too much attention. 

Tim had finished up and gone into the bedroom again while Jason was gathering his things. When he reappeared, Jason took one look at him and burst out laughing.

Tim was wearing Jason’s clothes. Jason hadn’t noticed it so much when it was just a tshirt, but now he saw Tim was swimming in them.

He had jeans with cuffs turned up too many times to be a statement, another tshirt that reached his thighs, and a hoodie with sleeves that flapped around where Tim’s arms stopped short.

“It’s not that funny.”

“You look like you’ve been hit with a shrink ray.”

“If I had been hit with a shrink ray, the clothes would have shrunk too.”

“You look like you were put on the wrong laundry setting. You look like a hobbit in a bad disguise. You look like –”

“Yes, yes, thank you very much. Very funny.”

Tim started shoving his things in a bag but stopped when he picked up his chestplate. “Did you clean this?”

Jason looked up. Tim was frowning at him again. It was starting to get under Jason’s skin.

“I can arrange to have the blood put back on it, if you’d prefer.”

“No, I – that’s –” Tim fumbled before getting a hold of himself. “Thank you, Jay, you saved me a crappy job.”

“I guess you can owe me one then,” Jason said. “Come on, let’s go. Get the fuck out of my house.”

Tim didn’t say much on the way down to the bike, but that was fine with Jason. His mind was already focused on the order of the day.

Today, he hunted a god.  



	23. Chapter 22

Tim had his own private lift, straight up to his penthouse flat. 

Jason wouldn’t be surprised if Tim had had the thing put in himself. But at least no one would question why the heir to two of the largest corporations in the world was wearing the clothes of a local criminal.

Tim had insisted on giving Jason more of the salve that he’d used for the bruising on Jason’s chest. Jason hadn’t wrapped his ribs yet but was wearing his tightest Kevlar until he could get to the ship and have Roy and Kori take a look. 

In the meantime, painkillers were a crimelord’s best friend.

“Here,” Tim said as he came out of the bathroom. “This is it.”

“Great, thanks, babybird.” Jason pocketed the tub and turned back to the lift. “Say hi to Alfred for me.”

“You’re not going to wait for him?”

“I got some errands to run, you know, groceries, gods, I got a full day.” Jason turned back to Tim. “I’m sure Alfred’ll check the stitches for you.”

Tim moved closer, frowning again, tugging off the oversized hoodie. “You’re going after Hades?”

“Can’t stop him if I don’t know where he is.”

“Where are you even going to start?” 

There was that tone again, Jason thought. “I have done this before, Replacement.”

Tim huffed. “I know that. I just, I wanted to help. I can help with this.”

“Yeah well, I think I can do without the kind of help that walks into an assassin’s ambush.”

Tim crossed his arms. “I was looking for the League and I found it. You’re the one that started yelling.”

“Oh that’s right, you were helpfully sneaking around my fucking shit and somehow expected that to work out for you.”

“Don’t be an arsehole.”

“Don’t fucking talk down to me,” Jason growled, squaring up to Tim. “I’m not one of your teenage mutant ninja titans.”

“I’m trying to fucking help,” Tim pushed, exasperated. “There’s a fucking massive threat here and this is my city too. You agreed!”

“I gave you a fucking lift,” Jason shouted back. “That’s it. I don’t need your band of sidekick rejects breathing down my neck!”

Tim’s tone turned icy. “Maybe you didn’t notice, but I’m not a Titan anymore. I’m not reporting to them.”

“And your genius fucking next move was to go up against the League by your fucking self.”

“I wasn’t –”

“And get stabbed in the chest!”

“That was because –”

“I thought you were supposed to be smarter than that?”

“I know what I’m doing!” Tim snapped.

“And what the fuck are you doing?” Jason stepped closer. “Trying to prove something? You don’t need anybody? You can go after Ra’s al Ghul? You can bring Batman back from the dead? You’re smarter and better than everyone, right?”

“Yes that’s exactly what I’m thinking,” Tim threw his hands in the air and started pacing across the room. “I just don’t need anybody! It has nothing to do with me being fired from being Robin! Or being kicked out of the Titans!”

Tim turned to Jason and Jason was struck by a clear despair in Tim’s eyes.

“You think I don’t need anybody?” Tim shouted. “I don’t have anybody. That’s it. I’m on my own.”

Tim’s words pulled the floor out from under Jason.

Jason could see it all instantly. What it felt like to be replaced, left to deal with the fallout. To watch everyone else live the life that was yours once. Not just the suit. Your space, your place in the family, your network. 

Jason hadn’t just lost Robin, he’d lost everything. It would never be the same again. And everyone that had seen him as Robin, now knew he was the one that came back wrong.  
For Tim, it had been worse. He hadn’t died. He hadn’t stepped down. He’d been dismissed, in every way. Red Robin wasn’t part of anyone’s team. Forever in Batman’s shadow, forever compared to the sidekick he once was. 

Tim was where Jason was, before he found the Outlaws. Except with a lot less anger and much smaller body count. 

The anger had defined Jason. No one could overlook him because Jason made sure of it. 

Tim, he didn’t want to be forgotten, he didn’t want to lose everything. But he didn’t get angry like Jason. Tim just accepted it, he just took all of it, and tried to find a way to carry on. 

Jason felt the echoes of an old rage, made up of betrayal and anger and deep, deep sadness. But this time, it wasn’t for himself. 

Tim had half collapsed onto the sofa, his breathing heavy and his head tipped back with his eyes closed. 

Jason took a few steps over to the large window and watched Gotham below, grey and dirty. This was what this city did to people. Especially the ones that fucking tried.

He heard a long sigh behind him and turned to see Tim had leant forward and hung his head. “I’m sorry, Jason, I –”

“No,” Jason cut across him. 

Jason waited as Tim twisted around to look at him.

“When I came back, there was the Pit rage, yeah, but there was a lot of real anger. I hated Bruce. I hated my Replacement. I hated everyone who had just gone along with my life being given away.” 

Tim didn’t meet Jason’s gaze, sat unmoving. 

“I’m saying I get it. Not being in the family anymore. What that really means. I get it. So I guess – you’re not really alone.”

Jason didn’t know what he had expected, he didn’t really know what he’d wanted when he started talking. But something buried in his mind needed Tim to know that this family wasn’t the world. That Tim was better than the way they treated him. That he hadn’t been forgotten.

Tim was staring at him, but his face was marble. Whatever was going on in Tim’s brain was a mystery to Jason. 

Abruptly Tim stood, and Jason braced himself for whatever response he was in for when Tim calmly but silently started crossing the room towards him, never taking his eyes off Jason.

Jason imagined a punch to the face, and whether he should let Tim have the hit, or maybe he’d push him out this window. Jason adjusted slightly to plant himself a little heavier. It was probably going to be a punch. Or what if Tim was going to hug him? People hug when they share shit sometimes. Roy hugged. A lot. 

As Tim got closer, Jason watched him carefully and saw that he had been wrong. Tim’s face was anything but blank. Jason was caught in gaze and couldn’t look away. There were a thousand warring emotions in Tim’s eyes, as if the blue was an electric storm trapped inside him. Jason was hypnotised as Tim moved forward, not noticing that he wasn’t slowing, not noticing that he put his hands up to Jason’s neck. All Jason saw was the hurricane as Tim stepped up and kissed him.


	24. Chapter 23

Jason couldn’t think past Tim’s lips pressed against his; the hand wrapped around his neck, the thumb stroking his jaw. Jason's own blood pounding in his veins was all Jason could hear, sparked by the heat of Tim’s body pressed against him. He felt the way Tim didn’t breathe as he kissed Jason, the way he tensed and controlled himself. Jason felt every sensation in a moment that slowed down time, and as Tim started to fall away, Jason couldn’t help but follow. He surged forward and chased the kiss back to Tim’s lips, his hands darting out to keep Tim’s body close. Tim gasped against Jason’s mouth and let go where he gripped Jason’s jacket to tangle his hand in Jason’s hair.

Jason’s hands grabbed at his own tshirt on Tim's frame and he splayed his fingers out against Tim’s skin as Jason pulled the fabric up and wrapped his arms around him, never allowing any space between them. Jason felt like he was starving, like every instinct was screaming for Tim. He licked into Tim’s mouth, bit his lip and sucked on it, dug his fingers into Tim’s back and locked him tightly into Jason’s body. Tim met him for every breath, fingers scratching into Jason’s hair, gripping his neck, biting and kissing as tension unravelled and the storm flooded through them.

There was nothing but need and adrenaline and sensation, and Jason was lost to it. Everything was heightened as his awareness narrowed to where his body met Tim’s.

So when a metallic blast reverberated through the flat, Jason felt it jolt through him like a crack to the head. He jumped backwards, his body working and his mind flailing.

The doorbell sounded again and Jason struggled to catch his breath as his heart raced. He looked and saw Tim, chest heaving, lips bruised and eyes wide as he stared at the lift doors. When he turned back and saw Jason, Tim’s mouth tried to move but whatever he wanted to say died on his tongue. 

The doorbell sounded a third time and the engine of Jason's mind spluttered into life. 

“Alfred,” he choked out. 

Tim nodded dumbly, but didn’t move. 

Alfred was here, Jason tried to say. Alfred was here and Jason had to leave. 

Tim looked back towards the lift doors. “I have to let him in.”

Tim started to turn and walk away from Jason, and with each step Jason felt panic set in. He couldn’t see Alfred. He couldn’t kiss Tim. He couldn’t be here. He had to get out.

Jason whirled around and pushed through the first door he could get to. An office, files stacked high on the huge desk. One wall was lined with windows and Jason scrambled to get one open, the wind almost wrenching it out of his hand. 

Along to the side there was a balcony but it was too far away. Jason twisted to look up to the roof but the overhang blocked his view.

Jason ignored the risk as he pulled his grapple and fired blind, watching the claw sail overhead. He heard the clang and pulled the trigger, feeling the line go tight and rip him up out of the window. Bracing himself to hit the overhang Jason rolled himself over onto the roof proper, feeling pain shoot through his chest. 

Jason lay there for a few seconds, gasping, as the blood in his ears fought the roar of the wind around him. He felt the cold start to seep in and Jason remembered he wasn’t safe on the roof. He had to keep going.

Resetting his grapple, Jason pushed himself up and crossed to the other side of the building. He looked over the edge and saw the network of balconies sticking out like a jenga tower. Using the grapple to swing down, Jason quickly dropped floor after floor until he hit ground, not pausing to see if anyone was looking as he sprinted towards the closest alley. 

His bike was in Tim’s underground garage but Jason couldn’t risking getting to it. 

He kept running, the adrenaline in his system burning off as Jason will himself to cover more distance.

Eventually, the panic began to wear off. Jason slowed, his body starting to register the pain he was in, his aching ribs, his pounding head. Jason slumped against a wall and slid down it to sit on the pavement, and he realised it was raining again.

“Fuck.”

What had he done? What the fuck had just happened?

Jason tried to replay it in his head. Tim had been his usual weird and annoying self. They’d started yelling. Jason had said one vaguely nice thing. Tim jumped him and then, and then. 

It didn’t make any sense. They were not friends, they were barely allies; but Jason could still feel Tim in his arms, could see his eyes, could taste – 

Jason slammed his head back against the wall. He wasn’t going to sit on the ground in the rain trying to explain the actions of two clearly unstable people. He’d had fucking plans for his fucking day. 

Jason was going to find the Outlaws and start looking for Hades.

Standing up, he took a look around to get his bearings. Jason had made it a few blocks north but he was still a distance from Crime Alley. Without his bike, and he refused to think about where it was, there were a few ways back; but in this neighbourhood Jason had a particular favourite 

Picking an empty street, Jason pulled a small black fob out of his pockets and flipped the switch on the side. As he walked down along the parked cars, he saw one of them one light up and crossed over to the driver’s side. 

The door opened and Jason slipped into the seat. A push of a button on the same device and the engine started. 

A combination of keyless cars and Roy’s genius made jacking cars from rich people a walk in the park. In Metropolis.

Jason pulled out and started back towards his own territory. The drive was steady in the rain and Jason’s mind began to wander. 

I don’t have anybody. I’m on my own.

You’re not really alone. 

Blue eyes and bruised lips flashed across his vision and Jason hit the steering wheel, his frustration spilling over. It was a fucking stupid thing to do, he thought. Tim had lost his damn mind that was for sure, but Jason didn’t have to jump off the cliff after him. 

Twenty-four hours ago, they hadn’t even landed at Titan Tower. 

Stress, Jason thought. Stress and lack of sleep. And a concussion. And broken ribs. Of course he was going to take a release where it was offered. How long had it been since Jason had last been with anyone? Had a casual fuck, even?

Tim wasn’t unattractive, sure. And they’d had something of an intense time together, for the first time since Jason had tried to kill him. Near death experiences. Plus, Tim was a Bat, which Jason knew set him off. 

That was it, he thought, pulling into a garage not far from his building that would take care of the stolen car. Just a lot of crossed wires.

It wouldn’t happen again.   



	25. Chapter 24

“Ow,” Jason said loudly. 

Roy glanced up from where he was wrapping Jason’s ribs with an expression of mock surprise. 

“Oh does that hurt as well? It’s almost as if I’m still doing the same thing as when you said that five minutes ago.”

Jason narrowed his eyes at Roy. “Ow.”

Roy flipped Jason off in lieu of a response.

“Right, come on then,” Roy said as he finished up the bandaging. “Let’s go find Kor and get to work.”

Jason stood up from the bench and twisted slightly to adjust. The wrap wasn’t tight, but it was cushioned. The next time Jason was hit, it would help.

He followed Roy up to the main deck of the ship where Kori was keeping an eye on the control room. The ship was on the outskirts of Gotham, sweeping the cave systems with a scanner in an attempt to find any sign of the God of the Underworld. 

“Anything?” Jason asked as they came to stand beside her. 

“Nothing,” she replied. “But I can’t tell if that’s because there’s nothing or that the caves run too deep.”

Roy groaned. “There is not one single helpful bone in Gotham’s ugly old body.”

“If you’re disappointed, it’s on you,” Jason said, clapping Roy on the shoulder. “You should know better by now.”

Kori laughed. “Knowing this is your home makes me so sorry for you sometimes.”

“Just sometimes?” Jason grinned. “What kind of friend are you?”

“One who knows better,” Kori smirked. “So, what do we do if these scans come back negative?”

Jason moved over to the table and sat down in a chair, Roy and Kori following. 

“That’s the fucking question, isn’t it?” Roy said as he sat opposite. 

“What do we know?” Jason said. “We’re looking in the caves because he took me to a cave, but if he moved on…”

“Why take you in the first place?” Kori asked. “You said yesterday that he was attacking the League, but why take you?”

“He thought I was one of them,” Jason said.

“He didn’t take any of the others,” Roy pointed out. “Just you and Ra’s.”

“Another one,” Jason said, considering the implications of those specific words. “That’s what he yelled at me.” What would link him to Ra’s? The God of Death might have an interest in them both because – 

“What if he didn’t think I was with the League at all? What if he could tell that both me and Ra’s have cheated Death?”

“That would explain why he was going after Ra’s,” Kori agreed. “He’s being using the Pit for centuries. The God of the Underworld must have finally come for him.”

“The League don’t know where Ra’s is.” Jason remember the question Ra’s henchman had shouted at him. “And I didn’t see him when we were leaving that cave.”

Roy shook his head. “Neither did I. Which means Hades may still have him.”

“To do what?” Kori said. “If he wanted him dead, why not just kill him?”

“It could be something to do with the Pit,” Roy said. “Death could be pretty pissed at a magic soup that brings people back to life.”

“The Pit isn’t the reason I’m alive, though,” Jason countered. “Yeah I went in it, but I had already come back.”

“In which case, we’re back to just plain old resurrection, which doesn’t explain why he would kidnap instead of kill,” Roy said, leaning back in his chair.

“Maybe there’s something we don’t know about the Lazarus Pits,” Kori said. 

“It’s worth looking into,” Roy said. “It’s the only link we have right now.”

Jason nodded. “Talia would be the best person to ask, with Ra’s missing. But I have no idea how long it would take to find her, or whether she’d talk to me.”

Roy looked pensive “We do know that there are a bunch of Ra’s’ most loyal killers-in-waiting still in Gotham. Even if they don’t know anything, to get Ra’s back they might help us contact someone who does.”

“You may be underestimating how stubborn the bastards can be,” Jason said. “But it’s not like we’ve got any better leads.”

Roy slapped his hand on the table. “That’s the Outlaw spirit! So, we’ll leave the ship to carry on scanning the caves and we’ll go into Gotham to find some assassins.”

“We’ve had worse plans,” Kori said as she stood up. “If we’re going to be running around Gotham all day and night, I’m going up for some sun for an hour or so.”

“Sure thing,” Roy said, standing up with her and gesturing at the scanner. “I’ll take over here. Jay?”

“I’m going to send a message out, see if I can get in touch with Talia. It’s a longshot, but might as well.”

“Alright,” Roy said. “Outlaw meeting number three-seven-three adjourned. Meet back here around three, then we lock and load.”

The three went their separate ways and Jason headed for his room. Talia had contacted Jason in a couple of ways over the years. He had phone numbers, emails and a couple of online sites that had at one time been monitored by her people. Maybe one of them was still active. 

Jason opened the door to his room and stopped. 

There, on the bed, was his helmet. 

The last time he’d seen this one, it had been in pieces. Now it was reassembled, left in the centre of the neatly made bed. 

Picking it up, Jason sat down on the bed and just looked at it. 

He trusts you. 

Tim had worked with Jason without a second thought. Patched him up. Stayed in his house. There were definitely elements of trust there, he could admit that.

Did Jason trust Tim, in return? He’d been forced to take Tim’s help because of his injury, but Tim had helped him nonetheless. Tim may have accidentally confided in Jason, during their last argument, but Jason had chosen to reach out anyway.

Jason could probably say that he trusted Tim more now than when they landed in San Francisco.

That alone wasn’t good enough to explain what had happened earlier, but when Jason tried to think about it – he could feel hands on his neck and in his hair, and a warmth ran down his body.

He stood and shoved the helmet in a cupboard.

Jason had plenty of actual shit to be getting on with. Hades and the Lazarus Pit, which incidentally was a good name for a band, Jason thought, could be potentially catastrophic. And even if Hades was only going after resurrected people – that was a lot of heads in Gotham alone.

He didn’t expect any response from Talia, so the Outlaws would have to get something useful out of the assassins already here. 

Of course, Bruce would know something. But he was away with the JL and Jason wouldn’t ask. The Demon Brat might know something, but involving him would involve Bruce. Any of the Bats that had come into contact with the Pit would mean involving Bruce.

Then again, maybe not.

Tim had something of a relationship with Ra’s. He had been tracking the League last night, and found them. Sort of. Chances were strong he’d done a lot of research on the Head of the Demon and his supposed immortality. 

And, a voice whispered, it gave Jason a reason to see him. 

Jason sighed and flopped back on the bed. Why the fuck had he kissed Tim back.


	26. Chapter 25

Three hours in Gotham so far had turned up nothing. The Outlaws had first gone back to the warehouse where Jason and Tim had been attacked, but there was no sign. Since then, they had been systematically checking possible locations, based on Jason’s knowledge of the League. 

Jason thought, as he had pretty much every two minutes since they’d started, that he should call Tim. That Tim, and his history with the League, could provide some insight. But the warring parts of his mind refused to cooperate; either he could think of the case, or he could think of what had happened that morning. 

Jason couldn’t call him. Not yet. Not while his brain was still doing somersaults.

“Not for nothing, bud,” Roy started as he finished searching the latest location on their list of potentials. “I think we need a second opinion.”

Oh no Roy, Jason thought. Don’t do this to me.

“I was thinking that Red Robin said he was searching for the League –”

Son of a bitch.

“ – and he found them, right? Like he went to the docks and that’s where they were?”

Jason took a second to remind himself that his best friend had done so much for him in the past, and did not now deserve to be shot. 

“You want to call Red Robin for help?” Jason was proud of how normal he sounded.

“Well when you put it like that,” Roy fiddled with one of his arrows. “Look, I know how you feel about the Bats. So if it’s a no, then it’s a no. We’ll do fine without them.”

Jason groaned. Of course, Roy would be considerate and understanding. Of course, Jason wanted to call Tim. And of course, the perfect excuse had just landed in his lap. 

“You’re right,” Jason said. 

Roy turned and looked at him for a moment. Whatever question he had in mind, Roy seemed to find the answer in Jason’s face because his own broke out into a grin.

“Can I get that in writing?”

Jason punched him lightly in the shoulder. “I’ll fucking tattoo it on your arse.”

“You’re on, Zombie-boy.”

Roy laughed as dodged another swipe from Jason and ran through to the next room.

“Kori!” Roy called. “Jason is being violent again!” 

Jason barely heard her answering “I’m sure you deserve it” as he pulled out his phone. His thumb moved slowly across the screen, pulling up Tim’s contact.   
Jason took a deep breath, and hit dial.

It rang out.

Tim was probably busy, Jason knew that, he was a busy guy. But a small part of him imagined Tim watching the phone ring, ignoring him.  
Jason frowned. And hit redial.

It rang long enough that Jason thought it would cut off again, but then:

“Jason.”

Tim’s voice was subdued again, and Jason thought he might just hate that more than Tim’s normal judgmental tone. 

“Hey Replacement, I’m with the Outlaws,” Jason said loudly and quickly. 

“I see.”

“We’re in Gotham. We’re looking for the League.”

“I’d tell you he won’t be happy when he gets back but you already know that don’t you?”

“That’s just a bonus,” Jason said without smiling. “You still want to work this case?”

Tim was silent, and Jason waited. Eventually he heard Tim shift. 

“Tell me where you are,” he said. “I’ll come meet you.”

Jason ignored the little drop in his stomach. “We’re almost done where we are. I’ll text you the next place.”

“Fine.” The call ended.

Shit, Jason thought, looking up to the ceiling. He shouted through the door.

“You guys finished? We’re meeting Red Robin at the next one.”

The Outlaws crossed another possible off their list and headed the few blocks over to the next place. Jason had been concentrating on the finer abandoned buildings, knowing that Ra’s still liked a standard of living even when hiding. 

Their destination was a foreign-owned house in the nicer district on Gotham’s west side. It was left empty for most of the year and the League would have dealt with any security easily. 

Tim hadn’t arrived yet so Jason and Kori waited on the roof of the building opposite while Roy examined the security. His voice crackled over the comms a few minutes later.

“Everything looks like it’s still activated, guys. If they’re in there, there’s a chance that they’ll know we’re here as soon as I let us in.”

Jason looked over at Kori, saw her answering nod and opened the line back to Roy. 

“Alright, we’ll get in position to go in.”

Kori gripped Jason under his arms and flew them a few feet from the blacked-out window they knew was the main living room from the floorplans they’d examined before. 

Jason opened his line again. “Ready.”

Two seconds later came Roy’s response. “Go.”

Kori launched Jason towards the window and he fired his gun twice to weaken it before impact. 

Jason was inches from the glass with no way to stop when he heard Roy’s voice shout over the line.

“No, wait! Shit!”

Jason went through the window in a burst of glass shards, hit the floor and rolled into a crouch before yelling into his comms. “What the fuck just happened?”

Jason heard two voices at once. Roy’s shouted over the line “It’s a fake! It’s not active!”

But Jason focused on the other. 

“That’s what I’d like to know,” Tim said. 

Jason stood up from where he was crouched to see Red Robin stood, staff in hand, by the kitchen doorway. 

“Uh,” Jason so cleverly started, as Kori flew into the room. 

“Red Robin! Roy, it’s Red Robin.”

“That cunning little bastard,” Roy said. “I’m coming down.”

Tim gave up waiting for Jason to say something and turned to Kori instead. “I got here a little while ago, thought I’d get a head start.”

She smiled. “Whatever Roy says, just know it’s because you beat him.”

Tim looked confused for a moment before Roy swung through the window.

“You bastard!” Roy began immediately. “How did you even think to loop it like that? Fucking ridiculous idea.”

Tim’s face had gone blank at the onslaught, until he clearly put two and two together and relaxed slightly. “You fell for the alarm.”

“What did I fall for? I found it!” Roy declared. 

“After I’d gone through the fucking window,” Jason added.

“The timing wasn’t ideal, I’ll admit.” Roy said, without any actual remorse. 

“Well we’re all here now,” Kori interrupted. “And this looks empty as well. Are we moving on?”

“Did you find anything?” Roy directed at Tim.

Tim shook his head. 

“Strike fourteen, then,” Roy said. “We’re open to suggestions.”

Tim took a few steps closer to him. “Let me see your list.”

Roy tapped on his phone and held it out to Tim, who took it and started to scroll through.

Jason hadn’t moved, watching Tim carefully. After his first question, Tim hadn’t looked at Jason at all, and Jason felt both grateful and frustrated. Jason could count on Tim’s professionalism, he was sure, and that meant they could probably get through the evening without having to discuss what happened. 

And yet, now Jason was looking at him, the memory of that morning was flashing behind his eyes. He wanted Tim to say something, do anything, that might break Jason out of this limbo. He felt like he was waiting for the axe to fall. 

“Some of these are good, but at least six of them they’ve already used,” Tim was saying. “They never use the same location twice. I’ve already checked these. I understand why you thought these, but Ra’s would never go for it. I’ve got about eight to add to this, so that makes eleven locations I would suggest.”

“Ugh, we’re going to be here for hours,” Kori said.

“Think of it like a tetanus jab,” Roy said to her. “A few hours in Gotham is like a boot camp refresher for us.”

As the others were distracted, Tim’s eyes flicked over to Jason. Jason tried not to stare as that blue clashed with the memory still playing in his head. This was a mistake, he thought. 

They were going to be here for hours.


	27. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey to everybody and anybody following this story: sorry for the delay in chapter posts this last week - I had an unexpected houseguest. But they are gone now. So on we go!

Jason had learned to detach. Through pain, through fear, through any distraction. 

The drawback was that he couldn’t pick and choose what to ignore, so after a couple of hours and more empty locations, Jason should have expected Roy to pull him aside. 

“Bud, we have the list, we can send him on his way,” Roy whispered. 

“What?” Jason’s confused expression was lost under the helmet. 

“Come on, man, you’ve barely said a word to each other,” Roy nodded at Tim. “You’ve barely said anything. If he’s pissing you off that much, we can carry on without him.”

“I’m not pissed.”

“Sure, well you’re doing a great impression of it. I’m pretty sure Tim thinks so too.”

Jason swore internally.

“I’m not pissed, I’m just focusing on the job.”

Roy sighed. “Alright, if you say so.”

“It’s probably the concussion,” Jason said, grasping for a believable explanation.

“You got head pain?” Roy asked.

“Since yesterday, but what’s new.”

“Ah yeah, I get that.” Roy said, his expression brightening a little. “As long as you’re not seeing double.”

Jason glanced at Tim, seeing both Red Robin standing on the rooftop and Tim crossing his flat towards Jason. 

“I’ll be fine.”

Kori and Tim were checking the list when Tim’s head shot up and he looked towards the few buildings across the way. Jason saw him tense and his hands made an aborted reach for his staff.

“Incoming,” was all Tim said. 

Jason whipped his head in the same direction and ran through his helmet’s sensors until he saw it. 

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”

The figure somersaulted through the air with a grace that had been ingrained from birth. In his full Nightwing get up, Dick Grayson dropped in front of them.

“Hey guys! Crossover episode and no one invited me? I’m hurt!” Dick announced as he landed. 

“And yet you couldn’t take the hint,” Jason retorted.

“Come on, everyone knows I’m guest star material, minimum,” Dick said, stepping closer to Kori and Tim on the far side of the roof. Dick waved at Roy. “Hey, man, how’ve you been?”

“Ah you know, this and that. Nothing currently broken,” Roy replied with a shrug. 

“Always a plus,” Dick said, turning his attention to Kori. “Hey Star, you’re looking well. Outlaw life agrees with you.”

“You don’t look too bad yourself,” Kori said, not quite smiling.

Jason didn’t know every detail of what had happened between Kori and Dick, but he reckoned he could make an educated guess. 

Dick was charming as fuck when he wanted to be, beautiful in a way most people had never seen, and had a way of moving that hypnotised. 

Dick had also lost his parents at a young age and gone almost straight into the revenge-driven paranoia-filled house of Wayne. 

Those two elements combined led to hard falls and even harder fallouts. Roy had once told him that being the focus of Dick’s attention was a little like being on ecstasy; that losing it was like coming down on your own in a damp alley. Roy had been concussed at the time but considering how people tended to act around the first Robin, Jason believed it. 

Jason himself had never experienced that. Dick hadn’t had much to do with him when Jason was at Wayne Manor, considering he and Bruce were on the outs at the time.

Clearly Dick had decided to feel guilty about this, as since Jason got back, Dick had alternated between pretending they had always been best friends and making emotional speeches about healing. Both grated. 

Dick had moved to stand next to Tim, and put a hand on his shoulder. “I was actually out looking for little Red here. I didn’t realise you were working together. Anything I can help with?”

“No.” Jason said. 

“Uncalled for,” Dick said with mock insult. 

“Yes, exactly,” Jason fired back.

Dick rolled his eyes and turned back to Tim. “I heard you left San Francisco early, figured you’d come back here but you didn’t get in contact.”

“I’ve only been back a day,” Tim said, his expression empty again under the domino. “I’m just lending a hand to the Outlaws before I’m expected back on patrol.”

“Of course!” Dick clapped Tim on the back. “I think it’s great!”

“It’s a good thing we’re all hanging off your opinion then,” Jason said. 

Dick wasn’t phased. “You’re welcome to it anytime, Jaybird. I just need to borrow Red here for a moment if you guys don’t mind? Then he’s all yours.”

Jason looked at Tim’s expression. Not one muscle moved on his face. “I don’t think it’s me that needs asking.” 

“Come on,” Dick said to Tim, ignoring Jason’s comment. Tim fell in step with Dick as he was drawn away to the far side of the building, out of earshot and angled so that Jason couldn’t lip read.

Jason seethed. Either Dick couldn't read Tim, or he didn’t care to, and after everything that Tim had told him that morning, Jason was not in a tolerant mood.

He had taken a step forward when green eyes and fiery hair interrupted his field of view.

“We’re not inviting him to join us, are we?” Kori said in a low voice. 

“Absolutely fucking not.” Jason shuddered at the idea. 

The worst thing about Dick, that Jason could see, was that he was never the bad guy. Dick smiled and laughed and charmed, listened. Cared.

Maybe that was why it hurt more when he turned out to be as disappointing as everyone else.

Roy stood a little closer to Kori. “Do you think we can just ditch the two of them?”

“Tim too?” Kori asked.

“I think we’re only one Bat away from being considered a conservation effort.” Roy said with a wry smile.

Jason looked past them over to Dick and Tim. Tim may be a master of his emotions but Dick certainly wasn’t; the blue-and-black figure was throwing his arms around in a blatant display of frustration. Whatever he wanted from Tim, Dick wasn’t getting it. 

That was enough for Jason to make his decision. He turned to Roy and Kori.

“We’re leaving.”

Jason moved a few paces closer to Dick as Roy and Kori prepared to move on. 

“Replacement!”

Dick stopped abruptly and turned as Tim took a sidestep to look at Jason. 

“Are you going to stand on this roof all fucking night?”

Jason could see Dick’s jaw clench under the mask as he turned fully towards Jason. 

“This is important, Jay.”

“And your priorities have always had so much to do with me, big brother.” 

Dick’s eyes widened. His guilt was an extension of Dick’s own warped sense of self rather than anything to do with Jason, but it was still there. 

Jason knew it would hurt. 

He gestured to Roy and Kori. “We’re leaving.”

Jason didn’t wait for a response as he walked back to where Kori had taken off, with Roy following. 

He heard low angry voices behind and resisted the urge to turn back. Jason wasn’t going to fight Tim’s battles for him. If he wanted to go back with the Bats, then he could.

It might even be better if Tim went with Dick, Jason thought, as he took out his grapple and considered the buildings around him. 

Jason heard Dick finally lose his temper. “No! Tim, come on!”

As Jason extended the gun, Tim appeared beside him with his own grapple in hand. Jason glanced over at him, and saw Tim's jaw set and eyes steeled as he prepared to follow the Outlaws. Jason stepped off the building and felt a rush, as though the weightlessness had hit for the first time again. 

Relief. Jason felt relief.


	28. Chapter 27

They spent the next three locations in an uneasy silence. Jason knew that Roy still thought Tim was the source of Jason’s odd behaviour.

It was essentially true, Jason thought. And did not feel the need to correct him.

They had been watching a collection of empty buildings, ones that Tim had added to their list, long enough to be getting restless. 

Roy, crouched next to Jason, had glanced at him four times in the last minute, and Jason knew he was building up to something. 

“For fuck’s sake, what?” Jason hissed. 

Roy looked as guilty as a dog caught in the fridge. “Ah, yeah, it’s nothing.”

“If it’s nothing, why am I considering pushing you off this roof?”

“Because of an unhealthy upbringing.”

“Fuck you.” Jason almost grinned. “Now just say whatever it is already.”

Roy sighed. “I’m kinda hungry.”

“We’ve been out for here for hours,” Jason murmured. “Hardly surprising.”

“Kori could take me down, I was thinking. I could bring some stuff back.”

Kori and Tim were further back, what with Kori’s ability to draw the eye even on the surface of the sun.

“So go,” Jason said. 

“So I don’t want to stick you with the little Bat,” Roy countered. 

Shit. Jason thought he’d been acting more normal.

“I think I can handle twenty minutes.”

“I’m not saying you couldn’t.”

“Then what’s the fucking problem?” Jason growled. 

“That.” Roy said. “Prolonged exposure to Bats makes you about as pleasant as a hernia.”

“I have a concussion.”

“I’ve seen you with a concussion.” Roy said. “Look, this is probably a bust, just like the others. I’m going to get food. Try not to think about the company I’m leaving you in.”

Roy didn’t wait for a response and crawled away from their lookout spot. 

Try not to think, Jason scoffed. He was already sick of thinking about Tim. About what he might say, or do, or how he might look at Jason. It was pathetic. And Jason was done with it. 

Jason would be absolutely fucking thrilled to be left alone and not think.

Until the quiet sounds of a person dropping onto the roof beside him interrupted Jason’s fantasy.

Tim settled with a careful distance between them – but still close enough to reach out, Jason’s brain helpfully supplied. 

And then – nothing. 

Tim was focused on the buildings ahead, his eyes scanning the complex for movement. Tim didn’t speak, didn’t move, didn’t give any indication that he was even aware of Jason. 

Un-fucking-believable, Jason thought. I have to dance around Roy and Kori, and this arsehole gets left alone. 

I don’t have anybody. 

He trusts you. 

I forgave you. 

“What the fuck were you thinking?”

Ah shit. 

The silence was deafening for a moment as Jason dealt with the monumental stupidity of speaking out loud. And then:

“That this complex had been abandoned after that chemical spill, and now it’s been decontaminated it would fit with Ra’s’ pattern.”

Jason almost laughed. If they hadn’t been stalking a possible League hideout, Jason would have pushed the little shit off the edge. 

Regardless of whether he’d meant to say anything at all, Jason wasn’t going to let Tim steamroll him like that. Fuck it. They were doing this now.

“Try the fuck again, Replacement.”

Tim sighed. “I don’t think this is the time.”

“Well, your thought processes are questionable, at best.”

“And yours are up to par, are they?” Tim glanced at Jason. “I could ask you the same thing.”

“But you didn’t. So here we are.” Jason knew it was childish, but it was all he could do under threat of being forced to explain himself. 

“Come on. You’re supposed to be a genius and you kissed a mass murderer.”

Tim didn’t respond. They both stared at the buildings ahead of them and Jason was considering just blowing the place up when Tim shifted slightly.

“I don’t know.”

When Jason glanced to his side, he saw that Tim was watching him carefully. “What?”

“What I was thinking. I don’t know how to explain it.” Tim repeated. “There isn’t really an answer to that question.”

“That’s a cop out if I ever heard one.”

“You’re a murderer. Even now. I know Tommy Six has disappeared.”

Jason thought about his last encounter with the drug dealer and kept silent.

Tim continued. “You’re a Gotham crimelord. You run with the Outlaws. No one in their right minds would call you a good person.”

“Ouch, babybird. Tell me what you really think.” Jason deadpanned.

“You asked,” Tim countered. “But. The people you go after are the bad guys. Crime is down in Gotham, insofar as you don’t let anyone else commit any. And you saved the world.”

“I had help.”

“You still did it.” Tim had gone back to watching the complex. “It shouldn’t be enough. Just because I understand why you’ve done the things you’ve done, even if I can forgive you for what you did to me, it shouldn’t be enough. But I trust you. And I – I feel… I don’t know. It’s just easier, with you.”

Jason hit the catch on his helmet, sliding it off his head and setting it on the roof, before scrubbing his face with his hands. It was a lot to work through. 

Jason knew these things were true. He was a murderer, and an Outlaw. Jason had seen enough of the worst kinds of people not to lose sleep over a few dead human traffickers. People like that didn’t stop, and they didn’t change.

Jason also knew that Tim was still a Bat, deep down. He still believed in their ideology, in the mission. 

Tim didn’t actually want anything to do with him, Jason thought. But despite his better judgement, Tim trusted him. Despite the fact that Jason was such a goddamn failure to the cause.

Fucking hell, Jason thought. I’m Elizabeth Bennet. 

Absolutely fucking not. 

Jason pushed away from the edge of the roof and moved until he was out of view of the complex. 

He didn’t care what the Bats thought of him. Not enough to change him. Jason was angry for what he had lost, what had happened to him, but in the here and now, Jason knew what he was. Jason got shit done. He didn’t just kill innocent bystanders for the fun of it. Jason made sure that the ones that were never going to stop, were stopped. He had no regrets over what he’d done. 

Tim’s reaction was just his fucking Bat superiority complex coming out in full force. And Jason didn’t need the kind of friends that claimed to like him despite all his apparent awful qualities. 

“What the hell?” Tim’s voice demanded.

Jason spun and saw the black and red clad figure climbing through the shadows towards him. 

“Take the hint, Replacement,” Jason snapped. 

“Which one?” Tim planted himself in front of Jason. “The one where you stormed off or the one where you stuck your tongue down my throat?”

“Careful,” Jason growled. “You might make the murderer mad.”

Tim’s mouth dropped open. “Are you fucking kidding me? Everything I just said and that’s what you heard?”

“What was I supposed to hear? That you think you’re better than me?” Jason crowded into Tim’s space. “You’re all so fucking superior because you don’t get rid of the ones that never stop?”

“Jason,” Tim snapped. “You almost killed me! You still don’t want anything to do with me! And you are a criminal! These are all just damn facts and I am trying to explain why it’s so fucking confusing to feel fucking safe with you!” Tim finished with a shove that sent Jason back a pace. “Can’t you even try to understand that?” 

“Maybe I’m just too much of a lost cause,” Jason yelled back. 

“Are you serious – and you call me an idiot.” Tim threw his arms up. “I’m not going to stand here and wax lyrical about all the reasons I want to kiss you. Fuck that. I’m done.”

Tim marched to the edge of the building and jumped off without a word as Jason stood where Tim left him, fuming. 

It had been ten minutes since Kori and Roy left.


	29. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the delay in this update! Life got in the way of writing and editing and so forth, but I have used this weekend to get ahead of myself so I can post regularly again. And I will update three chapters now and reply to all the incredible comments I've had while I've been stuck in the real world. 
> 
> Just a heads up, the rating will go up to explicit in a few chapters time, I hope that's alright. I will update the tags.

Jason was sat back at his vantage point when Roy and Kori returned, still furious, refusing to think about his and Tim’s argument. 

The lack of movement around the complex they were watching and another failure in their search for the League had done nothing to improve his mood.

“What did you do?” Roy’s voice was vaguely suspicious. 

“You’re going to have to narrow that down, bud,” Jason tried, with a light tone. 

“There is no tag-along Bat on this roof. Or nearby.” 

“The night’s suddenly looking up.” Jason’s grin didn’t reach his eyes.

“I guess so,” Roy agreed. “Anything to improve your miserable mood.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re fine. And Batman wears glittery bat-ears on weekends. And Oliver puts boxing gloves on the ends of his arrows. Actually, he did do that. He’s an idiot.”

“You have that in common,” Jason muttered. 

“Hilarious,” Roy said. “Come on, this place clearly isn’t the one. And we have food.”

Jason followed him back to where Kori was waiting with the large, greasy-smelling paper bags.

“Red Robin has left us?” Kori asked, as she distributed the food.

“We discussed it, calmly, and we decided that the Outlaws could finish this alone,” Jason lied, pulling a handful of fries out of his bag.

Kori raised an eyebrow. “Calmly. Of course.” 

Roy made a grabby hand at the extra bag, the one that should have been for Tim, Jason thought, as Kori continued. 

“We have the list, regardless. And now things can go back to normal. You clearly cannot think straight with him around.”

Jason choked on his mouthful of fries, spluttering as he felt them clogging up his airway. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, finally getting his breath back.

“We may not have been here then, but we know what happened,” Kori started in her usual blunt manner. “Red Robin is a focal point for your anger. It’s better for you to stay away from him.”

“From all the Bats,” Roy added.

“Yes,” Kori said. “They’re everywhere, it seems.”

“That’s Gotham for you,” Roy said, lifting his drink in mock salute to the city. “Just tell me you didn’t kill him because I really don’t want to deal with ‘daddy’ when he gets back.”

Jason shuddered. “One, never call him that again. Two, the Replacement left here alive and well.”

“And let’s hope that’s the end of it. No more Bats, no more Titans,” Roy followed. “Just Outlaws.”

Kori screwed up her empty wrapper and threw it at Roy. “Just Outlaws. Already enough to deal with.”

Jason had a smile on his face as his teammates bickered, but he couldn’t shake the images of Tim flashing across the front of his mind; standing apart from his teammates on a helicopter landing pad, or walking away from Dick on a Gotham rooftop. 

It’s just easier, with you.

Come the fuck on, Jason told himself. Don’t be so pathetic.

The three of them plotted out the routes to their remaining locations, and Jason followed with a half-distracted mind as Roy and Kori picked up the slack, clearly letting Jason keep his distance. 

Empty building after empty building greeted them across the city and as the sky edged a shade lighter, the trio finally called it a night. 

“Ugh,” Roy exhaled as he slumped back against a wall. “I hate stupid hidden assassins.”

“And they hate you,” Jason added. “You two should head back to the ship.”

Roy practically leapt into Kori’s arms. “Don’t need to tell me twice! Quick, Kori, before Gotham does something!”

Kori laughed and threatened to dump the archer on the floor. “And you’ve already jinxed it.”

“Somebody touch wood!” Roy yelled. 

The three of them span about looking for anything wooden – but found only concrete and metal. Jason closed the gap between him and the others and smacked Roy on the head.

“That’ll have to do.”

“Good thing I’ve got enough genius to take a few knocks to the head,” Roy said.

“Ugh, Kori, take him away. I beg you.”

Kori tipped Roy up so that she had him by the ankles as she started lifting into the air. “See you tomorrow, Jason,” she smiled. 

Roy’s protests faded away as Jason watched them disappear into the night, Kori shining like the star she was. 

Looking away and over the rooftops, Jason’s thoughts turned again to a red and black figure, swinging through the city, in his mind’s eye.

Pathetic, he told himself. 

Jason made his way back to his flat as the sun became visible over the horizon, watching the streets of Gotham begin to fill up. There was something immensely satisfying about going to bed when most other people were headed to their office job. 

As he peeled off his clothes, unwrapping his ribs, showered and rifled through his fridge, Jason’s thoughts seemed to settle into a pattern of stray thoughts – a voice, a touch – which Jason clamped down on stubbornly into a strict emptiness.

Spending time deliberately not thinking about Tim was as annoying as thinking about him, Jason decided, as he dozed on his sofa.

From somewhere in the pile of clothes he’d left outside his bathroom, his phone started chirping. His stomach lurched as Jason’s brain latched on to the idea that it was Tim at the other end of the line. 

But when he picked up the phone and looked at the screen, Jason’s stomach flipped for a different reason. 

Alfred. 

Jason watched the screen until it went dark again, thinking about that morning and how Alfred would have felt, knowing Jason had avoided him.

The ring started up again and Alfred’s name returned to flash across the screen.

Jason took a breath, and answered. 

“Alfred.”

“Master Jason, are you alright?” Alfred’s voice was sharp, full of concern that made Jason ache. 

“I’m fine, you got any reason to think I wouldn’t be?”

“Are you still working with Master Tim?”

“We’ve gone our separate ways, actually.”

“I was afraid of that.”

Jason’s jaw clenched at the contained panic radiating through the phone. “What’s happened?”

“Master Tim registered a distress signal which has since cut out. He’s missing.”

Jason felt his breath catch. 

“What? Since when? Where did it go off?” Jason grabbed his clothes off the floor one-handed and started tugging them on. 

“We couldn’t get the location but for the general east-side area, roughly three hours ago. Master Jason, I know you and Master Tim don’t always see eye-to-eye, but if you hear anything –”

Jason stopped, looking down at himself half-dressed. “Hear anything.”

“Yes, if you’d pass anything on that might help, I’d be eternally grateful.”

“Yeah. Yeah, sure Alfred. I’ll let you know.”

He heard Alfred exhale with relief. “Thank you, Master Jason.”

Jason hung up without another word and stared at the shirt in his hand. “What am I doing?”

No one expected him to go out and look, no one expected him to give a damn. And he shouldn’t, really. Tim was an arrogant arsehole with a holier-than-thou attitude. Who in their right mind would willingly go after that?

It’s just easier, with you. 

For fuck’s sake. 

Jason grabbed his gear and headed back out into the sunrise.


	30. Chapter 29

It was almost impossible to actively look for Tim, and yet not think about him, Jason found. 

The morning sunlight was weak through the clouds, but it stayed dry at least. Jason divided up the east side area and systematically began checking likely areas; searching through alleys, empty buildings, criminal dens. If Red Robin turned up anywhere from a hospital or police station to the dockside gambling hells, Jason would know. 

And all the while, everything they’d said, everything they’d done, kept running through his mind, and Jason kept stumbling over what he’d been too angry to hear the night before.

It shouldn’t be enough. 

I trust you. 

It’s so fucking confusing to feel fucking safe with you!

Jason couldn’t stop hearing it now. Confusing, Tim had said. Jason felt like logic was twisting over itself in knots. Whatever it was that had crawled out of the mess of their history couldn’t overwrite it – it shouldn’t be enough.

And yet.

Some hours, and several broken bones later, Jason had found nothing. None of his willing or unwilling informants had heard anything of Red Robin.

Jason had one hand on the collar of a mid-level gangster-wannabe, legs flailing where Jason had shoved him over the edge of a balcony, when Jason felt his phone go off.

“Saved by the bell,” Jason growled, abruptly letting go. 

The man grabbed the railings as he fell and Jason left him, shouting and dangling three stories up, without a backward glance. 

Jason stopped out of sight and pulled out the phone, expecting another sighting or alarm to investigate, but as he read the message he’d been sent, relief flooded through him. Rapidly replaced by rage. 

‘Found the League. No location on R. Missing since docks. No knowledge of H.’

Are you fucking kidding me, Jason fumed. 

Tim’s message was a report. 

Jason had been searching for hours, even feeling slightly fucking guilty, and Tim had been on mission and sent him a fucking report.

Absolutely fucking not.

Jason was already moving when he consciously decided to confront Tim. 

In a blur of semi-coherent thought, Jason crossed the city to Tim’s penthouse flat, landing on the roof with no intention of hiding his arrival. He broke through into the top of the lift shaft, prying the doors open with ease, and probably more damage than necessary.

“Replacement!” Jason’s shout echoed through the flat. 

The living room and kitchen looked as pristine as Jason’s last visit; the whole place felt unnaturally sterile. 

This wasn't where Tim would be.

Jason ignored the door that he’d pushed through before and headed further into the building, looking for locked doors and walls that stopped short. It was second-nature at this point.

There it was. 

The door was smaller than the others, suggesting a reinforced frame, and had a lock that Jason recognised from his time in the Batcave. Since he wasn’t interested in preventing any alarms going off, Jason got through it quickly. 

“Replacement!” Jason yelled again, marching through a corridor that lacked any of the artwork or décor that the other rooms had. 

He caught sight of red and black clothes strewn outside a half-open door, and Jason smacked his hand against it, throwing it back against the wall. 

Tim, sat on a tiled floor against the side of a bath, stared up at him.

“What the fuck?” Jason blurted out. 

Tim was in his boxers, needle in hand, surrounded by pieces of his medkit. Of all his skin that Jason could see, there wasn’t an inch clear of bruising or thick dried blood. Long gashes ran down his arms and either side of his torso. Blood was smeared around his mouth and matted into his hair. 

“It looks worse than it is,” Tim said, his voice hoarse but steady. 

“Sure. That’s alright then.” Jason knelt down and took the needle out of Tim’s hands, picking up the antiseptic scrub instead.

“Get in the bath,” he ordered. 

Tim just looked at him blankly. 

“Get in the fucking bath,” Jason barked again. “How were you even planning to see where to stitch?”

Jason leant over and turned on the showerhead as Tim climbed to his feet and stepped in. He moved slowly, Jason saw, but not as though anything were severely damaged. 

As the water ran off Tim in dark red currents, Jason started to map out his injuries. The bruising was extensive, clearly the result of a targeted beating. The gashes were long, but clean. The work of a slow and considered blade. 

Tim hadn’t been in a fight, he’d been tortured. 

Jason focused on the edge of the wounds, adding the antiseptic scrub where the water was lifting the congealed blood. Tim hissed, one hand tightly on the curtain rail while the other grabbed Jason’s arm.

Jason didn’t let Tim push him out of the way, continuing to examine and clean each of the long cuts. They were deep enough to cause a lot of bleeding, without any real damage. They were designed to cause pain. 

“So, this is what you meant by ‘found the league’?” Jason asked as he stood up fully.

With Tim stood in the clawfoot bath, Jason had to tilt up slightly to look at him. Tim’s eyes flicked over Jason’s face and he still had Jason’s wrist in his hand as Jason stared up into the blue. Tim’s other hand dropped from the rail onto Jason’s neck, and he almost shivered as he felt Tim’s fingers brush his hair.

Jason reached out instinctively to hold Tim’s waist, water and blood mixed on slick skin, feeling long ridges under his palms.

Tim exhaled sharply and Jason ripped his hands away from where they’d covered the long wounds. 

“Shit.” Jason tried to bend down to look but was jerked back up by the grip on his arm.

“Jason.” Tim looked at Jason intently. “What are you doing here?”

The question gave Jason a moment of clarity, as the past few hours flashed through his brain and reminding him of both his anger and his relief. He shook Tim off and crouched back down to the scattered medkit.

“You went missing,” Jason said as he picked out strips and salve for the bruising. “Alfred asked me to find you. Here I am.”

Jason didn’t get a reply as he knelt down, sifting through the materials on the floor, berating himself for whatever he’d just done. 

He couldn’t lose his fucking mind over this. Jason knew that Tim had at least similar thoughts - that they couldn’t do each other any good; that, on principle, they should stay as far away from each other as possible. 

Jason turned to resume his impromptu first aid work as Tim stepped out of the bath beside him, but didn’t get a chance as he watched Tim walk out of the room without a word.

“Hey!” Jason scrambled after him. “Where the fuck are you –”

“You need to leave,” Tim cut him off, without looking back.


	31. Chapter 30

Jason followed as Tim disappeared down the hall, finding him in a bedroom pulling out a shirt. Still dripping a mix of water and blood, Tim ignored Jason as he stormed in.

“Look at the state of you, I’m just –”

“I don’t want your help,” Tim said, sliding the shirt over his head. “I don’t want you here. Get out.”

“Well too bad, Replacement, because here I fucking am!”

“All you needed to do was find me. Now you can send it in and get them to call off the dogs,” Tim spat as he pulled on a pair of jeans. “Mission complete.”

Jason crossed the room and stood in front of Tim. “It wasn’t a fucking mission. No one gives me fucking orders. You should know that by now.”

Tim stared up at him defiantly. “Then what are you doing here, Jason?”

“What kind of question is – because you – because I –” Jason stuttered, as he realised that he had no idea how to answer. Why was he here? Why had he gone looking for Tim? Why had he come to Tim’s flat?

“You disappeared,” Jason settled on. “You disappeared and I went out looking.”

“Why?”

“Because – I don’t know,” Jason rubbed his hands over his face. “Why does it matter?”

“It matters.” Tim said coldly. “There’s a difference between being here because someone told you to and being here because you wanted to find me.”

“Babybird.” Jason could feel the frustration shift now. “When have you ever known me to do something because someone told me to?”

If anything, that seemed to anger Tim more. “Don’t fucking do that.”

“Do what?”

“Pretend like I’m the idiot here.”

“When did I fucking say that?”

“What are you doing here? Why did you come looking for me?”

“I don’t know! I really don’t fucking know.” Jason kicked an empty bottle on the floor. “I clearly didn’t think it through.”

“Well think now,” Tim ordered. 

Jason let out a growl of frustration. “I don’t fucking know. You disappeared. You were missing. Alfred rang me and I just – I don’t know! I had to find you before it was too late!”

“I can handle myself!”

“I know that! But you don’t have back up! You sent a distress signal out to the fucking Batcave and how could I trust them to find you? So I went looking and then you sent me a fucking report like it was nothing so here I fucking am!”

Tim watched Jason throw his arms up and pace around the room as he ranted. 

“Why did you kiss me back?” Tim asked quietly.

Jason froze for a second. “Stop asking me fucking stupid questions!”

“Stop avoiding it!”

“I’m not avoiding it!” Jason slumped against the wall on the far side of the room. “I don’t know why. It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Tim fell silent. Jason stared at the wall, unwilling to see the expression on Tim’s face, as he struggled to pick one coherent thought out of the mess in his mind.

“Does it still seem like a good idea?”

Jason looked across at Tim, stood in a shirt and boxers, hair wet and blue eyes wide. All of the frustration, anger and fear whirled through him as he started to move.

Planting himself in front of Tim, Jason leant forward and brought a hand up to hold Tim’s face, giving him a moment to register what Jason was doing before he kissed Tim hard.

He pulled back barely an inch to whisper against Tim’s lips. “I think this is the dumbest fucking idea I’ve ever had.”

“I think you may be right,” Tim said before surging forward to kiss Jason again, closing the gap between them and wrapping his arms around Jason’s shoulders.

Jason felt the dampness of Tim’s hair tangled around his fingers and the heat of Tim’s lips and tongue against his, and Jason licked up to the roof of Tim’s mouth, relishing in the shiver he felt run through Tim as he held him. 

Jason’s hand wound around Tim’s waist as Tim began to push Jason’s jacket off his shoulders, until Jason stopped to shrug it off. He felt hands on his kevlar, deftly working on the clasps. 

One by one, Tim dropped all the pieces of Jason’s armour to the floor, and Jason reached back to pull his undershirt over his head. His skin felt like it was burning as Tim was back on him in an instant, kissing Jason like it could save them, the firm scrape of his nails sending heat down Jason’s spine. 

Jason felt himself getting half-hard as he rolled his hips against Tim’s, and his hands dropped to the hem of Tim’s shirt. Pulling it up, Jason gripped Tim’s waist to haul him up further and felt thick, tacky liquid just as Tim gasped against him.

“Shit,” Jason breathed, yanking his hands away and pushing himself back. He had forgotten, again. What the fuck was wrong with him. “You’re bleeding.”

Tim was breathing heavily, his pupils blown wide and lips swollen, as he lifted his shirt and ran his hand over one of the bleeding cuts. “It looks worse than it is.”

“Just let me fucking look at it,” Jason said as he walked back to the bathroom he’d left the medkit in, trying not make a show of adjusting his jeans over his crotch. 

Get a fucking hold of yourself, he thought as he picked the pieces off the floor.

Don’t go insane now. He’d been through too much to lose it now. Even if he had somehow gone from trying to kill his Replacement to trying to fuck him.

Maybe it was too late.

Tim wasn’t in the room Jason had left him in, so Jason carried on down the corridor. There were only a couple doors in the hall but Jason didn’t need to check them as he heard the sounds of Tim moving about in the room up ahead. 

The end of the corridor opened into another kitchen. This one was nowhere near as pristine as the one Jason had seen before, with take-away boxes and half empty plates scattered about. 

Tim was stood by a coffee machine with far too many buttons, watching dark brown liquid drop into the pot below. The dark stains on his shirt couldn’t stop Jason’s eyes trailing across the back of Tim’s neck or the fabric of his underwear. 

“Have you taken painkillers?” Jason asked as he walked into the kitchen. 

“No,” Tim said absently. 

“Bored of me already?”

Tim turned to look at Jason laying out various bits on the island counter. 

“Bored isn’t the word I’d use,” Tim said as he came to stand next to Jason. 

“I bet I can guess,” Jason said, looking down at the expression on Tim’s face. 

“Try and tell me you’re not thinking you’ve gone insane, too?”

Jason huffed a laugh. “It may have crossed my mind.”

Tim grinned at him. “It might be true. I mean, there really is no other explanation for this.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Just what Gotham needs, another mad genius in a costume. Shirt off. Take these and hold still.”

Jason handed the painkillers to Tim, who swallowed them dry before discarding his shirt, and bent down to finish checking the wounds. After wiping away the rest of the blood, Jason saw that his earlier assessment was correct. Deep enough to cause pain and bleed, but to not do any real damage. A combination of glue and strips would be enough.

Once Jason had finished, and covered each of the cuts with a dressing, he picked up the salve to start smoothing it across the dark red blooms on Tim’s skin.

With each glide of his hands, Jason was acutely aware of each tensed muscle, every measured breath and the silence that hung between them. 

Jason was still focused on the bruising as he stepped closer to Tim, but he could see Tim’s head was tilted up to him and raised his gaze to Tim’s clenched jaw and parted lips.

Jason leant forward and brushed his lips against Tim’s before kissing him, deep and slow as his hands continued to smooth the salve on Tim’s skin. He felt the heat rush through him with every stroke against his tongue, relishing the soft intensity of it. 

When Jason finally pulled back, he watched blue light dance around Tim’s blown pupils, and felt the reality of what they were doing seeping in at the edges. 

“What the fuck happens now?”


	32. Chapter 31

Tim closed his eyes and leant back against the counter. 

“I’m really sick of the words ‘I don’t know,’” Tim said. “But I don’t know.”

“I thought you were supposed to be smarter than me,” Jason said.

“I am.” Tim manoeuvred around him to get back to the coffee machine. “Maybe some of your stupid rubbed off on me.”

Jason laughed and felt some of the tension fade away. “You’re going to need something stronger than antiseptic for that, I reckon.”

“Now you tell me,” Tim grinned back. 

Jason knew it was unnatural for this to be so easy, between him and his Replacement. Jason had never spent any real time with Tim. They didn’t know each other. 

And yet, it seemed that on a couple of important things, they could understand each other. Tim apparently could accept how Jason came back changed by the Pit, could see the difference between Jason and it. 

Jason, conversely, could see what had happened to Tim when he’d lost Robin. That was a fairly unique piece of life experience that they had in common, and Jason knew what it meant for someone to recognise that.

Spoiler might get it, Jason thought offhandedly. Maybe he’d ask her one day. He had always assumed it hadn’t meant much to her. He didn’t know why.

It was the foundation of his relationship with the Outlaws. To know what it was to have your life ripped out from under you. 

Jason looked over at where Tim was sipping from a large mug, inspecting Jason’s work on the dressings. Tim glistened where the salve was still on his skin, highlighting each line of tight muscle across his stomach. Everything about Tim was streamlined, toned. Jason remembered how it felt, and imagined dropping his hands lower, trailing around the hem of Tim’s underwear and dipping beneath the fabric, to dig his fingers into the firm shape of Tim’s arse – 

“If you keep looking at me like that, I’m going to end up bleeding again,” Tim said, cutting through Jason’s reverie. 

Jason felt a flash of shame as he realised that he’d been staring straight past the evidence of Tim’s torture. 

“Can’t be risking my incredible handiwork there.” Jason moved past Tim to pick up a mug from the side and giving it a rinse in the sink. Shaking it off in the absence of any kind of towel, Jason handed the mug to Tim with a pointed look. “And you’re a terrible host.”

Tim took the hint and poured coffee into the mug before handing it back. “In my defence, I wasn’t expecting guests.”

“No, you were expecting to deal with the League by yourself. Again.” Jason leant back against the counter. “What was that about being smarter than me?”

“If we’re going to talk about that, go put your shirt on.” Tim refilled his own mug and held it close. 

Jason looked down at himself and then back at Tim with a grin. “What’s the matter, babybird? Am I distrac–”

Jason trailed off as he watched Tim’s hand drift across his own stomach, hooking his thumb under the band of his boxers and running it along above his crotch. 

“That’s what I thought,” Tim said dryly. “Go put a fucking shirt on.”

Jason raised in hands in surrender and turned back to the room in which he’d discarded his clothes, picking up only his undershirt and leaving the rest. There was a small thrill in the back of Jason’s mind at seeing his clothes on Tim’s floor. 

By the time Jason returned to the kitchen, Tim had sadly found his own clothes to wear. A plain sweater and jeans, but Jason knew they probably cost more than most people’s monthly wages. Such was the life of a billionaire. 

“So,” Jason announced. “The League.”

“Justice or Assassins?” Tim asked without looking at Jason. His attention was on a laptop he’d opened up on the counter.

“You’re forgetting Extraordinary Gentlemen.” Jason picked his mug back up and leant against the counter a couple of feet from Tim. 

“If they ever show up, we have other issues.”

Jason didn’t reply, let the silence be interrupted only by Tim’s tapping on the keyboard. Jason thought about the League, about what tortures they liked to inflict. 

The long cuts on Tim’s side – Jason remembered a particular torture with a hooked blade, where they would pierce and split the skin in layers. They used it almost exclusively on their own, as it hurt like all hell and healed up with no impact on movement.

Say what you want about the League, and Jason did, but they could be practical. 

Jason could imagine what Tim had experienced, having been on the receiving end of several League punishments and ‘training regimes.’ They had spent many centuries perfecting techniques and tools of control; ways of setting nerves alight and sending people into agony that could drive them mad – 

The mug in Jason’s hand cracked, coffee spilling to the floor. 

“Fuck, fuck.” Jason looked around for anything absorbent and found nothing. What the fuck did Tim use to clean up? What state was he living in?

Tim pulled some napkins out of a take-away bag and dropped them over the puddle on the floor. “What did my cups ever do to you?”

“What the fuck were you thinking going after them on your own, again?” Jason demanded, dumping the fractured remains in the sink. 

Tim rolled his eyes and shut the laptop. “I’m fine.”

“You were tortured.” Jason growled, staring at the broken china.

“It’s how they say hello.”

Jason smacked the edge of the counter and spun back to Tim. “Not fucking funny, Replacement.”

“So you keep telling me,” Tim said, voice level as he squared up to Jason. “All that matters is that they know even less than we do, which means that –”

“What matters is,” Jason cut across him. “That you went out with no back up, again, looking for the League, again, and got fucking tortured. Which is what would have happened if I hadn’t been at the docks!”

“I was never in any real danger.” Tim seemed to ignore Jason’s anger. “Ra’s wouldn’t let them kill me.”

“Trust me, Replacement,” Jason hissed, crowding Tim against the side. “There are so many worse things than dying. Not to mention that Ra’s may have been kicked out of existence by the God of Hell. Who would stop them then?”

“I can handle the League.”

“You’ve ‘handled’ yourself into three pints of blood loss.”

“You’re being dramatic.” Tim waved him away.

Jason grabbed his arm and pulled it back. “And you have your eyes glued shut. You can’t just do shit like this.”

“Do what?” Tim wrenched his arm out of Jason’s grasp. “We needed to find the League. I found them. We got what we needed, and I got out alive. What’s a few bruises in our line of work?”

Tim’s words tumbled over and over in Jason’s head, as time slowed down and every current of rage he’d suppressed broke through and surged into life.

They had done this. Dick. Alfred. Clark. The Titans. The Justice League. Every single fucking piece of shit that called themselves a hero. And Bruce. Bruce was the worst of the fucking lot. All of them had taught Tim that his life was worth less than the fucking mission. They had taught him how to fight and then thrown him away. They told him to go out and save the day and damn the consequences. And he had been so fucking young. A damned child soldier. 

Jason was going to make every single fucking person that had had anything to do with this wish they had never heard the fucking word ‘vigilante.’

Jason was going to burn it to the fucking ground. 

He wasn’t just going to stop with them. Every single deranged psychopath in Gotham. Jason would obliterate Arkham. No one who had participated in this fucking charade would walk away. Not anymore. 

Jason needed his gear. He needed a whole lot of shit. And then his first fucking stop was going to be the Batcave.


	33. Chapter 32

Jason turned back down the hallway he’d come from. His armour and guns were in the bedroom. 

It felt like he was in the eye of a storm, where all around he could see the devastation happening but Jason existed in a single-minded calm. 

There was a tug on his arm and Tim darted round in front of him. Clever, stunning, infuriating Replacement that he was. Jason had been seeing it wrong all this time. Jason had died, and when he came back, Talia had told him that Tim had stolen his life. But the truth was that they had given it away. Because it didn’t matter who it was, as long as someone was there. As long as there was always another one lined up to fall on the fucking battlefield. 

Jason was going to end it. And then he was going to come back and show Tim what life was beyond the Batcave. Beyond the arbitrary rules that they had put in place to keep this war everlasting. 

But first Jason needed his guns. 

He carried on to the bedroom, putting his armour on, strapping his guns on. Tim appeared at his side again, tugging at his arm. Jason swung round and shoved him back against the wall, relishing everywhere he felt Tim’s body against his, and kissed him hard. 

“I won’t let them get away with this,” Jason murmured against Tim’s lips. He pulled back and made for the window, shoving it open and leaping out into the rain.

The first thing he planned to do was blow the Cave. Bruce might be away on mission but that would get his attention pretty fucking quickly. Bruce didn’t let anyone else into Gotham, except maybe Clark, but Jason had access to the green stuff. That meant he had time to deal with Bruce, with Gotham, and then with the rest of the fucking heroes. Jason would use the ship to take out the Watchtower, and take down communications. 

The plan began forming as Jason swung through the buildings; names, locations, weapons scrolling through his head. 

A flash of movement to his left had Jason landing on the nearest roof and scanning the air, guns drawn. 

The scanners in his helmet caught it before Jason – a blue and black shape contorting through the sky and heading for the same roof. 

Fan-fucking-tastic, Jason thought. Dickiebird.

He didn’t hesitate, whipping around and firing off shots in quick succession. Nightwing span in mid-air and dropped out of sight, reappearing as he swung over the side of the building and landed opposite Jason.

“Hood, it’s me! It’s me!” Dick yelled. “Jeez, you gotta be more careful.”

Jason barked a laugh as he aimed again. “You mean like you? What a fucking mess that would be.”

Shots rang out again and Nightwing threw himself back, flipping over himself and ducking out of sight.

“Hood!” Jason heard echoing out from Dick’s hiding spot. “What are you doing?”

“What I should have done years ago,” Jason said, reloading. 

He heard Dick moving fast to his right, following the sounds with the gun barrels. Nightwing flew over a metal hatch back into view, sailing towards Jason.   
With rapid fire, Jason managed to clip Dick twice, forcing him off balance as he crashed forward into Jason. He grunted as he fell back with Dick’s weight on top of him, and they both went sprawling to the ground. 

Dick recovered fast and swept his leg out to catch Jason in the side. Jason rolled with the kicked to dampen the blow, pushing up from the floor and back to his feet. Dick was already there with his sticks, delivering two solid blows to Jason’s helmet and torso before Jason could leap backwards out of reach. 

He drew his gun up to aim for a chest shot when another mass collided with him, sending the bullet wide as Jason staggered with the impact. 

He was still on his feet though and Jason whipped around to strike at the new threat with the butt of his gun. Jason felt the gun connect and force the new figure off him, following it up with a kick to put enough distance between them to aim at – 

It was Tim. 

“Red Robin!” Dick shouted over Jason’s shoulder. 

Jason snarled beneath the hood and swung back to Dick as he ran at Jason. Dick was all grace and movement, but Jason was power. One sure hit and Dick was on the floor, trying desperately to stand again as Jason kicked him viciously in the ribs. 

This was the fucking sorry excuse for a hero, for family, that had abandoned Tim when he was needed most. This was the shit that had encouraged children to fight.

Jason lifted Dick half off the floor and threw him as far as he could, striding after to pick him up again. As Dick hit the floor again he used the momentum to roll back up onto his feet, spinning out with a kick that caught Jason in the stomach. It was weak enough that Jason pushed forward anyway, punching out and connecting with Dick’s chin. 

Jason pulled his arm back for another hit when Tim was in front of him again, pulling at his jacket, yelling his name. Jason could see Dick over Tim’s shoulder, screaming at Tim to move, and Jason seethed that Dick would dare to speak to Tim after everything he’d done. 

Jason tried to push past Tim to aim at Dick but Tim blocked him again. He released his hold on Jason’s jacket just long enough to yank the cowl off his head.

There was blood smeared across his face, drawing Jason’s attention back. Tim’s eyes were wide and pleading, the blue sparking as Jason brought his arms around Tim. Tim was injured, he’d been hurt – 

“Look at me! Jason, please, look at me!” Tim shouted. “You have to fight it! It’s the Pit! Jason, please!”

Jason faltered, and Tim scrabbled at the catch on his helmet, yanking it over his head. Jason felt cold hands on his face, keeping him focused on Tim. 

“Come on, Jason! You can fight it! Listen to me! Jason, your eyes are green!”

Jason saw his reflection in Tim’s eyes.

The Pit. The green swirling mass.

He felt it roiling and thrashing like the fucking parasite it was. Jason planted himself in the tide of it, pushing back with everything he had and clamping down on the rage.

Jason jerked away from Tim as he got control of himself, shaking with the exertion. 

“Fuck, Tim! What the hell were you thinking?” Dick yelled, breathing hard. 

As the Pit receded, Jason’s anger pulsed and spiked as Dick started up.

“This is what I meant! This is exactly what I knew would happen! Look at you!” 

“I’m fine,” Tim snapped back. “Get off me!”

“No, Tim don’t –”

“Jason.” Tim’s voice was softer, closer to Jason. “It’s alright, now. It’s all alright.”

“No,” Jason forced out. “No, I really don’t think it fucking is.”


	34. Chapter 33

“Dick, for fuck’s sake, will you shut up?” Tim yelled again as he stood between Dick and Jason. 

“He’s clearly unstable! He needs to come back with us, so we can deal with this.” Dick’s tone swung between commanding and pleading as he and Tim argued. 

“No. Just no.” Tim hadn’t let go of Jason as he stared Dick down. “You need to go back to the Cave, you’re injured. And I will be fine with Jason.”

Jason was stood with his eyes closed, breathing hard, trying to block out the argument behind him. The green tide in his veins was still raging, slowly being forced back into the box that Jason had created. His own anger was still volatile and it made the struggle harder, but he was in control now. Jason wasn’t letting go again. 

“And what if you’re not?” Dick continued. “Tim, look at yourself! Are you in any state to even defend yourself if he attacks you?”

Jason’s stomach lurched and he whipped around to look at Tim. Blood was smeared down the side of his face, a bruise on his temple that didn’t come from the League. Underneath, his skin was pale and he was clearly trying not to favour his left side. 

“Babybird…” Jason trailed off. What was there to say?

“It wasn’t your fault,” Tim said without hesitating. “I’m alright.”

“You’re not,” Jason countered. “You’re bleeding, you’re –”

“I’m taking you back. And then I’ll stop bleeding. Deal?” Tim said with an attempt at his normal grin.

Jason opened his mouth to tell Tim how un-fucking-funny he actually was when Dick cut him off. 

“You’re both coming with me. I know you’ve been working on a case together, Alfred told me,” he said, holding up a hand to stop Tim when he tried to speak. “It’s your case, I respect that, but this is different. And you know it.”

Jason’s anger rippled through him at Dick’s insufferable tone. “What I know, Dick, is that you’d have to kill me again to get me in that fucking cave. Just fuck off.”

“Jay –”

“There is no one here to give a shit about your opinion,” Jason said loudly. “Go away.”

“I don’t think –”

“Just leave it,” Tim said sharply.

Something shifted in the way Dick was looking at them as Tim put a hand on Jason’s arm, and Jason knew that Dick wasn’t the sort of annoying shithead that would let things go easily. Or at all. 

“My place is closer.” Tim turned his back on Dick. “Plus your bike is still there.”

It felt like weeks since he had left his bike there, Jason thought. Turns out two days had more hours in them than he realised.

“I guess we’re going to yours, then,” Jason acquiesced. 

“Wonders never cease,” Tim muttered under his breath as he prepared to make the short journey back. 

“I’m capable of rational thought, you fucking sass pot,” Jason shot back. 

“Sass pot?” Tim said with a raised eyebrow.

“I said what I said.” Jason took out his own grapple, stepping up to the edge of the building. 

He heard the sound of air whipping up as Dick somersaulted over his head and landed in front of them.

“Look, I don’t want to be the bad guy about this, but this is not good enough.” He turned to talk to Jason directly. “Look at what you did, Jay. You haven’t lost it like this is in a long time. You know it’s too much of a risk.”

Jason knew. Jason knew that being around Tim had thrown him off balance, had stirred up things that had never really settled. The part of him that had started to see Tim as something separate from the Bats was at war with the formerly dormant rage at his Replacement. 

But Jason would be damned if that meant submitting himself to the microscope waiting for him in the fucking Batcave. 

“The only risk I see here,” Jason growled. “Is of you getting another bullet.”

“I will call Alfred tomorrow, alright?” Tim said with a huff and a sharp glance at Jason. “I’ll check in, and no one has to get shot.”

Dick clearly sensed the fight was lost, his mouth settling into a tightly displeased line. “Fine. See that you do. And if I find out anything else has happened –”

“You’ll do what?” Jason challenged as Dick drew himself up.

“Nothing’s going to happen,” Tim answered. “Come on, Jay.”

Tim didn’t wait for another word as he stepped off the edge of the roof. 

Jason shot Dick a final glare as he followed, flipping the condescending bastard off as he disappeared behind the building. 

Following Tim through the buildings, Jason’s thoughts raced faster than he could process. The Pit rage, his own anger, his concern for Tim, Dick’s annoying voice, face and general presence, it was all a mess. Jason didn’t know where to begin. And he knew it wasn’t over yet. 

When he landed on the roof, Tim was waiting, looking at him with a strange expression. 

“What?” Jason said, warily. 

“How did you get in, before?” Tim asked. 

Jason blinked, caught off-guard by the question. “You may want to have a look at the top of the lift shaft. When you get time.”

Tim grimaced. “I see.”

Tim turned away and walked towards the metal casing for the building’s air intake. The building was tall enough that he was fairly well out of sight behind it, and Jason watched as Tim activated a remote switch and a section of the floor slid away. 

Jason grinned as Tim started to walk down the now-visible stairs inside. “Very Thunderbirds. Wonder how that affects the market value.”

Tim scoffed. “Yeah I can just imagine it on one of those house-buying shows. ‘And here we have a lovely secret entrance for your illegal vigilante activities. Could be converted into a nursery.’”

Jason chuckled despite himself. “And that’s why none of that shit is ever made in Gotham. ‘This house recently became available after the previous owners were beaten to death by Penguin.’”

Tim snorted. “Well that escalated quickly.”

“An autobiography, by Jason Todd,” Jason added.

“A bestseller, top of the New York times list,” Tim said, glancing back at him as he led them down a short corridor and into a small, bare room.

The door opposite had a Bat-grade locking mechanism, and when Tim had finished the different security stages, the door opened into the same corridor Jason had broken into earlier. 

Tim didn’t slow and headed straight for the small kitchen. 

Jason stopped in the doorway as he took in the room. The medkit was still out on the counter, the coffee machine still on. It was almost as if they hadn’t left, as if the last hour hadn’t happened. Almost.

Tim’s mug was on the floor, smashed, in a puddle of cold brown liquid. A smear of blood was on the wall. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to send a jolt of remorse through him. 

Tim had pulled his cowl and cape off, dropping without a care, as he dug through the medkit. He turned around with a needle held in his teeth, dropping his armour and pulling his undershirt over his head, giving Jason a full view of his chest. 

All Jason’s work had been undone. The strips had torn, the long cuts bled sluggishly where the glue had ripped away from the skin, blood was smeared across his chest and down the side of his face and neck. 

Jason felt his rage flare up. Anger at himself, at the League, at Dick. At Tim, for having so little care for himself. 

He watched Tim inject himself, discard the empty needle and lean heavily back against the counter. 

“That’s better,” he breathed. 

“Fucking idiot,” Jason muttered, shutting down his anger and keeping it tightly controlled. He wasn’t going to lose it again. 

“I don’t care if you’re talking to me or talking to yourself, I don’t want to argue right now,” Tim said.

“I don’t know. Both,” Jason said.

Tim gave Jason a look. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“Those just appear out of nowhere, did they?” Jason gestured at the cuts and bruises that hadn’t been there an hour ago. 

Tim sighed. “Yes, I’m a fucking magician. Could you please give me a hand here?” He started picking through the scattered med supplies. 

Jason shook his head, still frozen in the doorway. “You have to face it, babybird. You’re not safe around me.”


	35. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE IN RATING FOR THIS STORY!
> 
> I don't want anyone reading something they're not down for.

“Jason, it wasn’t your fault.” Tim pushed himself off the counter and crossed the room back to stand in front of Jason. Jason tracked the wounds across Tim’s bloody, bruised torso, dragging his eyes up to the injuries he inflicted. 

“Doesn’t matter if we agree on that,” Jason said, reaching out a hand to Tim’s face and wiping away the blood at his mouth with his thumb. “I still did this.”

Tim’s hand came up to grip Jason’s wrist. “I’m not an idiot. I know you have triggers; I’ve seen them. But I’m Red Robin, I know how to handle myself and I accept the risk. That’s it.”

Jason shook his head again and started to pull away but Tim held him in place. 

“Don’t leave,” he whispered, stepping closer. “Don’t.”

Jason stared down into wide, stormcloud eyes, unable to make himself move. Even the blood couldn’t snap him out of Tim’s hypnotic gaze.

“At least help me out with this,” Tim said. “I did promise to stop bleeding, after all.”

Before Jason could answer, Tim released his arm and turned back to the counter. He cleared a space with a sweep of his arm and jumped up to sit on the side.

“Please?” Tim said. “Before the morphine wears off?”

He could do this, Jason thought. He could do this one thing before he had to leave. He owed it to Tim. 

As he acquiesced and started to walk, Tim lay back across the long island, his legs dangling over the edge.

Jason said nothing as he repeated his work on the long cuts and the bruising, carefully cleaning the blood and glue away. His stomach clenched as Jason cleaned up the new injuries, trying to picture through the rage-induced haze of his memories exactly when he’d inflicted them. 

It wasn’t right. This thing between him and Tim. It was too fast and too intense and it probably had a lot of psychological implications that Jason didn’t want to think about. 

Jason had almost killed Dick as revenge for Tim’s lack of self-preservation. He’d almost resurrected his vicious campaign against the Bats and Gotham because of what they had done to Tim. Tim, a Bat himself, who could be fucking irritating. All because what, Jason saw history repeating itself? Because he couldn’t get revenge for himself so he’d get it for Tim?

And Tim, who had sacrificed his entire short life to save first Batman, then Gotham, then who knows who else with the Teen Titans. Now he had decided to save the person that had tried to kill him? Someone that could still seriously hurt him, whether Jason meant it or not? Wasn’t that worse, in a way? If someone was coming for you, you could prepare. But if someone just exploded without warning, how did you live with that?

If all of that wasn’t enough, there was the twisted mess of attraction which made it difficult to even fucking try to think rationally. Of all the things that had happened in the last week, Jason was pretty sure that that was the thing that threw him most. 

By the time Jason had finished, he was no closer to any sort of clarity. 

He glanced up at Tim’s face and realised that Tim hadn’t said a word, but had been watching him in silence. 

“All done,” Jason said, one hand still resting on Tim’s stomach. His thumb was rubbing small circles that he was only half aware of. 

Tim propped himself up on his elbows and gave Jason a small smile. “Thanks.”

“Well, I guess I owed you this one.” Jason pulled back as Tim sat up fully. Before he could get far Tim hooked a leg around Jason’s waist and drew him back to stand against the counter. 

Tim grabbed onto Jason’s jacket to hold him in place. “You don’t owe me anything.”

Jason’s mind stuttered, trying to protest Tim’s words as his blood rushed south, his hips pressed against the counter standing between Tim’s legs. “You can’t –”

“I will keep saying it until you believe me,” Tim said simply, releasing his hold. “Although right now we should probably focus on the imminent threat of Gods in Gotham, which sounds like a terrible B-movie. With Ra’s missing and no help from the League, we’ll need to –”

Jason’s thoughts kick-started again as he processed what Tim was saying. “What the fuck?”

Tim just looked at him. “What?”

“Replacement, you were tortured. And then, then this. You’re not doing anything right now.”

“I’m fine, and we need a new plan to find Hades.” Tim started to push himself forward off the counter. 

“Absolutely fucking not.” Jason darted forward to scoop Tim up before he his feet hit the floor. “The only reason you ‘feel fine’ is morphine.”

“What the hell? I can walk!”

“I don’t care,” Jason said as he strode back down the hall with Tim in his arms. “You need to rest.”

“This is ridiculous, Jason,” Tim said as he struggled out of Jason’s grip.

Jason dropped him slightly before securing him again to throw off Tim’s attempt at escape. “I have even started on ridiculous yet, babybird.”

Walking into the bedroom, Jason deposited Tim on the bed. “Stay there.”

Jason hadn’t even stood back up fully when Tim yanked on his jacket and pulled him back down. Jason felt himself lose the battle to gravity and shot his arms out to avoid landing on Tim’s chest, holding himself inches above the bruising. 

“I’ll stay here if you do,” Tim said, very close to his ear. 

Jason looked up from Tim’s chest to find himself suspended above Tim’s lips, bright blue eyes gone so dark it sent a thrill through him.

A feeble thought that Tim needed rest flitted into his consciousness, but the feel of Tim’s hand sliding round his neck and the sight of his tongue wetting his lips overrode everything else. 

Fuck it, he thought. 

Jason dropped his head and kissed Tim hard, sucking Tim’s lip between his teeth and scraping across it before kissing him again. 

Tim inhaled sharply and his fingers tightened where they held his neck as his other hand gripped the jacket. He pulled Jason closer and Jason swung his knee up onto the bed between Tim’s legs to brace himself and Tim arched up to try and meet him.

Jason gave himself over to the surge heating his blood as the feeling of lips, teeth and tongue took over his senses. Every gasp and moan were shared in the space between breaths and Jason let more of himself pour into the kiss. All of his rage, his frustration, his lust flooded out in the intensity of his mouth against Tim’s.

Jason hitched his knee higher between Tim’s legs, pressing against his groin. Tim groaned into Jason’s mouth and his hips bucked against the sudden pressure. The rushing of his blood and the heat in his veins started pooling in Jason’s stomach, muscles tensing as his body responded to Tim grinding down on Jason’s thigh. 

Tim shoved at his shoulders roughly, pushing Jason away. “Off,” he growled. 

“Shit,” Jason scrambled backwards. “Did I hurt you?”

“No, you moron,” Tim panted. “Take your fucking clothes off.”

Jason sat back on his heels and barked a laugh. “Fuck.” 

He shrugged out of his jacket and threw it on the floor, before undoing the clasp on his kevlar and dropping it over the edge of the bed. Tim had toed his boots off the end and sat up as Jason pulled his undershirt over his head, Tim's hands following as it dragged up Jason’s stomach and over his chest. Tim skirted gently over the bruising around Jason’s ribs and dropped back down to the front of his jeans, one hand feeling the fabric over Jason’s cock as the other worked them open. 

Tim’s hand slipped inside and Jason groaned, his head dropping onto Tim’s shoulder as Tim rubbed Jason through his underwear. He felt himself getting harder in Tim’s hand and bit down on Tim’s neck to muffle the needy sounds coming out of his mouth. 

Teasing at the band of Jason’s underwear with his other hand, Tim nudged at Jason’s head with his own until Jason turned and caught his lips again. Jason let Tim kiss down the side of his jaw and his neck, forcing Jason up and back further until there was enough space between them for Tim to lean forward and press his lips to Jason’s stomach. 

Jason’s hands came up to Tim’s hair as Tim kissed his way down to where his fingers pulled at Jason’s underwear. Jason’s hips jerked forward uselessly as he felt Tim’s tongue tracing along his skin, his cock still trapped.

Jason couldn’t even be embarrassed when Tim dropped lower and mouthed the head of cock through his boxers and he whined loudly. His fingers tightened in Tim’s hair and he felt a tremor through his legs as he fought to keep still. 

Finally, finally, Tim tugged the band down enough to expose Jason’s cock, fully hard and flushed. Jason felt Tim lean in and lick from base to tip, no hesitation, tonguing the slit just before he pulled away. Jason felt his balls throb and he had to grip his own neck, digging his nails in to ground him against the sensation. 

Tim exhaled a hot, wet breath over the head, and Jason barely had time to react before Tim sucked the tip into his mouth. Jason’s head fell back with a shout as the heat and pressure overwhelmed him. Tim slid up and down his shaft, sucking and dragging his tongue under his foreskin and around the leaking tip.

Jason felt himself spiralling towards the edge and he had a single moment of clarity, that he didn’t want to fall alone, which made him push Tim off his cock and back down onto the bed. 

He didn’t give Tim a chance to protest before he pulled the rest of Tim’s costume and his underwear off in one go and tossed it over his shoulder. Jason leant forward and ran his hands up Tim’s legs and the inside of his thighs, ignoring his erection and digging his fingers into Tim’s hips instead. 

Tim moaned and tried to push up against Jason’s hold, pinned to the bed. “Fuck, Jason, fuck!”

Jason bent down and sucked as much of Tim into his mouth as he could, relishing in the weight and taste of Tim’s cock on his tongue. His lips were stretched to the point of pain as he sunk lower and he couldn’t stop the light scrape of his teeth as he pushed himself to take more. 

Tim writhed and whimpered above him, the sounds keeping Jason’s own climax so close. He felt spit trailing over his chin as he forced himself to move faster, sucking harder. His jaw ached and his fingers were numb and his cock throbbed so fucking much but every gasp and every shiver he felt wracking Tim’s body spurred him on.

Tim grabbed his hair and pulled hard. “Jason, Jason, I’m going to – I can’t –”

Jason pulled off Tim’s cock with an obscenely wet sound, climbing up over him to capture his mouth in a panting, desperate kiss as he thrust himself against Tim, moaning at finally having friction again. He pulled away for a second to lick his hand and shoved it down between them, wrapping it as far around the both of them as he could. Tim pushed up against him, wrapping a hand around Jason’s as they both fucked up into their tight joined grip. Jason cried out into Tim’s mouth, feeling everything overwhelm him as his whole body tensed.

Heat exploded through him as his climax hit like a lightning bolt, his body jerking and his cock spurting come hard between them. He felt splashes of hot liquid against his stomach as Tim followed him over the edge, yelling his release and biting down hard on Jason’s lip. 

Jason felt the aftershocks as he emptied himself completely, still sliding against Tim. He was breathing so hard he couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, just gasped for air against Tim’s neck. 

Slowly, he came back to himself, collapsed over Tim, his skin covered in sweat and bliss still swirling through him. Jason rubbed his cheek on Tim’s, relishing the skin and searching for Tim’s lips. Jason kissed the corner of Tim’s mouth as Tim still panted under him. 

The feeling of Jason’s cracked ribs supporting his weight on Tim’s chest seeped back into his consciousness and Jason rolled off Tim onto his back beside him. 

“Fuck,” Jason breathed.

“Yeah,” he heard Tim whisper.


	36. Chapter 35

Jason realised that his jeans and pants were still round his knees, which was an objectively terrible look. He kicked them off completely and lay next to Tim, his body still languid from a fucking intense orgasm. 

Absently, he ran his fingers through the come on his stomach, remembering the feeling of it landing on him. He glanced across to see his own on Tim’s stomach, enjoying the idea that Tim was covered in him, and saw white streaks on Tim’s skin, and on his – 

“Ah, shit,” Jason said as he pushed off the bed and moved quickly down the hall to the kitchen. He saw the antiseptic wipes on the counter and grabbed a couple before turning back to the bedroom. 

He stopped dead when he found Tim in the hallway, naked as Jason left him, but his expression horribly blank. Fear gripped Jason that Tim might regret what had just happened. 

“What are you doing?”

“Jason, please don’t freak out and leave again,” Tim started. “We can talk this through.”

Relief made Jason almost dizzy for a moment as he realised what had happened. He couldn’t help but laugh. 

“What’s funny?” Tim asked, still with a slight edge to his voice. 

“Babybird,” Jason said, running a hand over his face. “I’m not leaving.”

“Then what –”

Jason waved the wipes in front of him. “I fucking came all over your fucking stab wounds, didn’t I? Gotta clean that shit up.”

Tim looked down at himself and his breath hitched. 

He looked up at the ceiling and slumped against the wall. “Thank fuck for that. I really thought I was going to have to chase you across Gotham again.”

“Not today at least,” Jason said, trying to hide the sting that came with those words. 

He herded Tim back to the bedroom, laying him down and cleaning each of the long cuts carefully, unhurried. Jason let his fingers trail across Tim’s skin, revelling in the goosebumps that he left in his wake. Tim’s cock gave an interested twitch but was clearly too spent to get hard again so soon. 

Jason used the extra wipe on himself and threw them off the bed when he finished. 

“Those better not have hit my rug,” Tim threatened, sprawled out with his arms over his head.

“Nah,” Jason said, not bothering to check. He lay back down beside Tim and closed his eyes.

A few moments later, he felt Tim shift closer, twining their legs together.

“Babybird,” Jason smiled. “I promise I will be here when you wake up.”

Tim hummed vaguely. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure,” Jason said, locking his leg more firmly around Tim’s. “Go the fuck to sleep.”

Listening to Tim’s breathing even out, Jason let himself drift off. 

When Jason opened his eyes next, he was alone. 

There was a flash of annoyance that Tim had already gone, he felt vaguely robbed of something.

After a moment, though, Jason was relieved Tim was elsewhere. All the thoughts that Jason had shoved away were back and circling his consciousness like fucking sharks. And now he didn’t have Tim underneath him, writhing and groaning, to keep them out. 

What he’d done was going to cause problems. With Dick, and definitely with Bruce when he got back. Probably the extended Batfamily if he ran into any of them. 

The Outlaws expected him to leave soon, as soon as this Hades shit was done with, in all likelihood. And as much as Gotham was his home, and he would keep coming back, Jason really did hate it. Spending time here always struck him as a masochistic act. 

The rage was an issue. Jason had lost control too many times in the last few days. His anger at what had happened to him, and at how Bruce ran his fucking dictatorship, had never really gone away. Exposure therapy was not an option.

And then there was Tim. 

Jason didn’t regret what he and Tim had done. He was a grown-arse man and if he wanted to fuck someone then he would. 

What made it complica – different. What made it different, he thought stubbornly, was that his and Tim’s history suggested that they were not each other’s ideal partner. Not in crime, or vigilantism, and not in bed. Even after he’d stopped actively trying to kill Tim, the two of them had taken very different roads.

And yet. And fucking yet. Tim was alone, having rejected both the Bats and the Titans, in his own way, after he’d been betrayed by them. Jason didn’t like the idea that Tim might just accept what they’d done to him and go back because he thought it was the right thing to do. Jason wanted Tim to be selfish. He wanted Tim to leave them all behind and be better than the fucking sorry lot. And he wanted to be there to see it.

Jason also very much wanted to get Tim naked again. 

It felt like a lot of different pieces from random jigsaw puzzles, where nothing fit together. 

Jason sighed, sick of thinking, and pushed himself off the bed. Stepping into his jeans, he decided on finding breakfast, and coffee, and Tim, in that order, before any more thinking occurred. 

Coffee proved to be fairly easy to find. Jason was hit with the smell well before he made it to the kitchen, seeing Tim sat back at the counter, laptop open. 

“Replacement,” Jason started, crossing the kitchen. “What are the odds on you having actual food in here somewhere?”

Tim looked up from the screen, his face neutral. “Food?”

“You know, food. As opposed to leftovers from every takeaway within a ten-mile radius.” Jason started chucking empty bags into a corner in the hope of uncovering a clean mug. 

“There’s usually something,” Tim said absently, his eyes drawn back to the screen. 

Jason eventually noticed a built-in dishwasher, opening it to find the racks full of unwashed mugs. He frowned, and pulled one out to rinse in the sink, until he was satisfied enough to fill it with coffee. 

With Tim preoccupied, Jason started opening cupboards. Most of them were empty, some were filled with odd bits, the obligatory bag of five-year old rice that was found in every kitchen. Nothing of substance. 

When he pulled open the fridge, Jason was hit with a wave of melancholy. Stacks of covered bowls filled it; lasagne, shepherds pie, pasta. Easily reheated homemade dishes. 

Alfred’s cooking. 

Jason shut the door with a sigh, suddenly feeling much more positive about takeaway, and wandered over to where Tim was sat. 

“Anything exciting?” he asked. 

“Nothing,” Tim replied with a yawn. “I think it’s time to consider the possibility that Hades took Ra’s and left Gotham.”

Jason groaned. “Fan-fucking-tastic. An international god hunt. Just what I wanted.”

“It’s only been a few days. It’s also possible they’re still hidden somewhere. It’s also possible that they’re not in this dimension anymore.” Tim ran his hand through his hair. “A lot of possibilities, makes narrowing down a search difficult.”

“I guess it wouldn’t be so bad if they’d just fucked off but it always seems come back and bite me on the arse.” Jason leant over Tim’s shoulder to look at the screen. “Weather anomalies?”

“That bad storm the night you and Ra’s were taken could have been unnatural, or it could have been ordinary Gotham weather. I’m looking at any localised extreme weather just in case.” Tim didn’t look impressed with the results.

“Hmmm,” Jason said through a gulp of coffee. “I’ll head to the ship and see if there’s anything else we can look for there.”

“I have a complete system, Jay, there’s not much I can’t do from here.” Tim tried to drink from his mug and found it empty, and slipped out from between Jason and the counter to get a refill. 

“No system is infallible, babybird.”

“No, but mine is as close as you can get,” Tim said, throwing a used filter into one of the takeaway bags. “This is better than the Watchtower.”

Jason scoffed. “Low bar.”

“I’ve got sensors active across the city and in the water, satellites, cameras, anything and everything. Hades won’t stay hidden for long.”

“And that makes the ship redundant, does it?” Jason set his cup down on the counter with a smack, sick of the superiority complex on show.

Tim whipped around from where he’d been fiddling with the coffee machine. “What? No!”

“Because I reckon that fifteen minutes could get Roy through whatever’s in here.” Jason fucking knew he could. Especially with what he knew of Bat-based systems.

“Arsenal?” Tim spluttered. 

“Maybe I should invite him round, if this is the pinnacle of modern technology –”

“Jason!” Tim shouted. “I was not insulting your ship! I was trying to get you to stay!”

Jason stopped, unsure what to say. 

Tim sighed and dropped his head into his hands. “How long do you think it’s going to take you to stop hearing everything I say as an insult?”

Jason’s brain helpfully supplied fuck all in the way of response. “Err –”

A shrill alarm started sounding behind him and Tim pushed past him to get to the screen. 

When he spoke again, it was all Red Robin. 

“We have to go.”


	37. Chapter 36

Jason grabbed his discarded gear as Tim shouted down the hallway. 

“It’s an explosion and a building collapse by the river, police on the way. There’re reports of green-coloured flames which could mean a chemical spill. Potential air and water contamination. No casualties reported yet but it’s a busy area.”

Pulling on his clothes and kevlar, Jason held the hood in his hand as he strode back out to meet Tim. 

Instead of the door that they’d come through from the roof, Tim led him through the last door into a windowless walkway the Jason could only assume was expanded space between the walls. 

Tim was silent, glued to the tablet in his hand, scanning through reports and alerts as they came in.

They came to a separate lift shaft which Jason figured must be next to the main one, or at least close to it, but when they stepped into the lift there were only three available stops. Tim hit the lowest button and the lift fell at speeds not recommended for commercial sale and Jason wondered exactly what Tim had done to this building and how he'd gotten away with it. 

“How far away are we?” Jason asked. 

“Eighteen minutes by bike.”

“Good thing I left one here,” Jason murmured, mainly to himself for all the response he got. 

The doors opened into an underground garage, not the one Jason had come into with Tim just a couple of days before, and Jason recognised most the of the cars and bikes as Tim’s Red Robin vehicles, but along the far wall he spotted a more familiar machine.

“I brought it down here after you left. Couldn’t have it in the main garage. Even if my bit is private.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “No, I’m sure it didn’t go with the Bentley.”

“I don’t own a Bentley.”

“Sure you don’t,” Jason taunted as he rolled his bike away from the wall.

Tim huffed as he revved his bike into life, jabbing a code into a panel by the door and started to roll slowly forward. 

Jason pulled his helmet on and flicked the scanners into life as his own bike sparked to life and he followed Tim through a narrow entrance that appeared as a section of the wall retracted. As they both sped into an underground passage, panel-lined and lit, Jason thought that maybe Tim had had too much time on his hands when he first moved in.

Eventually they drove up a ramp into the grey Gotham light. Glancing back Jason saw a nondescript garage closing behind them as they sped towards the river.

Jason flicked his comms to life. “Kori? Roy? Anyone read me?”

Moments later, Jason heard Kori’s voice. “Jay? You weren’t at your place this morning, what happened?”

“Long story. But right now I’m heading into a situation on the river. You seeing it?”

“Yes, we are – but the Bats are responding. I can see Robin.”

Jason ignored the hesitance in Kori’s tone. “I’m en route with Red; we’ll get there in under fifteen. I need the ship in the air, I need to know what chemical spill we’re dealing with.”

“Fine. We’ll be there.”

The line cut out and Jason focused on Tim winding through the traffic ahead of him. 

The streets were increasingly clogged the closer they got, with cars stuck as the area ground to a halt. 

Jason could hear sirens from all directions as the emergency services scrambled and it wasn’t long before he started seeing uniforms managing crowds being funnelled away from the explosion. 

Dust hung in the air as Jason sped past police officers; most of them knowing by now not to get involved with Red Hood. 

When they reached the epicentre, the chaos of the crowds had been pushed back from the waterfront and Jason could finally see the collapsed frame of the building.

Tall, pale green flames covered the rubble and trailed down where it fallen down towards the river. But as Jason looked, he saw the flames burning across the surface of the water.

This close to the fire, the heat and the chemical fumes should have been sounding the alerts on his helmet, Jason should have been able to feel it. 

It felt cold. 

There was dust, but no smoke. 

The flames ran over every surface but burnt nothing.

Moving closer, Jason felt as if he was walking into a chiller. The air wasn’t cold but the warmth was leeching out of him. 

He looked across at Tim, who was removing the mask from his mouth he’d put on at some point on the ride over, and saw him throw out a small drone to scan the scene.

Jason walked closer to the edge of the fire, Tim moving to stand at his shoulder. 

“It’s not possible,” he said in a low voice. “For a fire to be an endothermic reaction.”

“Not the first time I’ve seen something that doesn’t exist,” Jason replied. 

“No.”

Jason looked at the edges of the imaginary fire, saw where it just stopped at the edges of the collapsed building. 

“It’s not spreading.”

“We don’t what the fuel is.” Tim had a smaller tablet in his hands. “We don’t know if it could spread in these conditions.”

They were right at the edge of it, close enough to touch the dancing flames. Jason got the sense that putting his hand in them would be akin to putting his hand in a bucket of ice.

“I’ll go round this side,” Jason pointed to his left. “And get down to the water.”

“I’ll head right then.” Tim gave the flames a last glance and headed away from him.

Jason picked his way around the edge of the fire and down towards the riverbank, alert for any signs of trapped survivors. But apart from a fire that wasn’t a fire, he couldn’t find anything. Nothing to explain why the building had collapsed, crumbled really, as Jason mapped out the debris. 

“Big Angry Red Head, this is the Mothership calling, come in Big Angry Red Head.”

Jason bit back a laugh and instead sighed dramatically. “Finally, no wonder it took so long. Who let you drive?”

“Kori said I had been very good after I tidied the ship, so now I get to drive,” Roy said smugly. 

“Oh well, if you’ve been a good boy,” Jason laughed. “I guess it’s alright.”

“Damn straight. Now what’s the deal with the green fire?”

“I don’t think it’s fire,” Jason said. “Its cold.”

“Endothermic fire? That’s new.”

The sound of clicks and switches came down the line. 

“Scans are running. We’ll see what’s what soon enough.”

“I need you to scan for survivors too,” Jason said.

“Already on it. Nothing so far.”

“Where’s Kori?”

“Up. She’s getting some sun just in case,” Roy said.

“Fair enough.”

Jason looked across where the bank had collapsed into the roiling water. The flames were still bright across it’s surface and there was a hint of ice forming where the water had calmed after the blast. 

“Roy,” Jason said, trying to form the thought as he spoke. “The water by the bank – it should have settled –”

“Like it’s flowing under the bank,” Roy said, picking up the trail. 

“Like the explosion punched a hole in it.”

“Like the explosion was underground.”

“Like the explosion was underground,” Jason repeated. “But there’s nothing under there, no access, no tunnels.”

“Maybe whoever did it dug in from the building, on purpose, to get to the water.”

“But then what was the point? All they did was bring down one building.” Jason frowned at the remains around him. “There are a dozen better places to choose if they wanted to explode the riverbank.”

“I got nothing, bud. Except to say that if it didn’t achieve anything, the explosion probably wasn’t the point.”

“If they did dig down under the building, it could have been for some other reason and the explosion was just an accident.”

“Well it’s a theory,” Roy said. “We’ve got further on less before.”

"Right, I guess we've not got a lot of options until there's a way to deal with the not-fire, can't clear anything, can't risk spreading it or -"

“Tt,” Jason heard behind him, loudly. “What was the point in showing up if you’re just going to stand there?”

Jason wished, not for the first time, that rolling his eyes was visible outside the hood. He turned around to look at the pint-sized shock of green, red and gold. 

“Bat Brat.”


	38. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise if the chapters seem like they're getting a bit rougher. I'm afraid I don't have a huge amount of editing time at the moment.

“What are you doing here? Is this your mess?” Damian stood with his arms crossed, looking at Jason with the kind of contempt that could only come with practice.

Jason tipped his head back and groaned loudly. “So happy to see you too, little psyco.”

“If you’re not responsible, you may go,” Damian said with a sniff. “You’ll just get in my way.”

“Doesn’t Batman lock you in your room when he’s away or something?”

“No one would dare.”

“Is that a challenge?” Jason grinned as he imagined locking Damian in his room, a bit like forcing a cat into a basket.

“Tt. As if you could.”

“That’s definitely a challenge,” Jason said. “And I accept. Absolutely.”

“Hood, are you capable of focusing on the issue at hand?” Damian gestured at the fire. 

“You’re the one who interrupted me, tiny demon. Anything you want to contribute?”

“I was here first!” Damian said indignantly. 

“And now the grownups can take it and you can run along and play.” Jason watched with glee as the newest Robin was so easily wound up.

Damian unsheathed his sword. “You will not take anything from me.”

“Robin!” Tim appeared behind Damian. “We’re at an active crime scene. What the hell are you doing?”

“I am dealing with a known criminal.” Damian said, still intent on Jason. 

“Put the sword away. Hood is working with me.” Tim said with a dismissive wave.

Damian did turn at that and bristled at Tim. “I didn’t ask for your assistance, either.”

“Oh, really?” Tim said in that tone that always grated when it was turned on Jason. “So what is your professional opinion on this, then?”

Damian looked at the fire and then away with a frown. “I don’t need to share anything with you.”

Jason watched Tim give Damian a devastatingly pitying smile and darted forward to grab the brat just as he lunged at Tim. 

“Get off me! You will pay for your insolence! Both of you!” Damian struggled, caught off-guard by Jason and stuck in his much stronger grip.

“Now, now, tiny psycho. Think about what the big Bat will say if hears you’ve been making a scene in front of all the nice police officers,” Jason hissed in his ear, knowing how desperate the kid was to prove himself to his father.

Damian froze and glanced over to the police tape, seeing various police and emergency services personnel giving them a wide berth. 

“Fine,” he said. “But don’t think I’ll forget this.”

Jason gave him a shove and stepped up to stand next to Tim as Damian regained his balance.

“Did you find anything?” Tim asked him.

“A potential dig through the groundworks of the building,” Jason replied. “Won’t be able to tell until the ship finishes its scans and some of this rubble gets moved.”

“I’m not reading any life signs and this property wasn’t occupied so I’m not concerned about survivors. They’ll bring the dogs in regardless to double check,” Tim said, with a nod to the police. 

“So we’re basically left with finding a fire extinguisher that works on impossible fires.”

“Pretty much,” Tim said.

Damian stood a few feet away from them. “Have you even considered that it may have a magical component?”

Tim levelled him with a flat look. “Why no, Robin, I have not considered that the cold, green fire might have magical origins. Thank you for your input.”

Damian growled and stepped towards Tim again.

“Nuh uh uh,” Jason warned. 

“Shut up, Hood,” Damian said through clenched teeth and settled for shoving Jason instead. 

Jason staggered a step and felt the debris he was standing on give way, pitching him forward. He caught himself before he fell but a freezing sensation shot up his leg, as if he’d stepped through a frozen lake. 

Jason looked down and saw green flames wrapped around his foot.

“Are you shitting me, you fucking brat?” Jason yelled at Damian as he jumped out of the flames.

Damian almost looked shamed for a moment. 

Tim was next to him in an instant. “Are you alright –”

The ground shook underneath them. 

“Bud, I’m getting an alert – ground shifting,” Roy said in his ear.

Jason had no time to react as the rubble exploded upwards. 

“Ah fuck.”

Two hulking shapes burst out of the ruins, climbing out of the fire.

“I swear to fuck I will fucking lock you in your room for a month!” Jason yelled at Damian as the three of them backed up from the fire and whatever was heaving itself out of it.   
Jason pulled out his guns and aimed automatically as the threat took shape.

Giant and humanoid, with stone-grey skin and black, the two figures had ridged metal plates across their arms and torso, moving like huge scales and running up and over their heads, covering their faces. Each one was holding a sword and a whip, both alight with pale green flame.

“What the actual fuck?” Jason blurted out. 

“Gee Robin, looks like that magic guess was pretty smart!” Tim said next to him. 

“I will make you regret that,” Damian said.

Jason ignored them. “Roy! You seeing this?”

“I’m watching but these guys aren’t giving off any readings,” he heard Roy’s frantic voice in his ear. “I’m making adjustments but right now I’ve got nothing.”

One of the giants roared and snapped its whip at Jason as they both started moving forward. 

Jason dove aside and opened fire, seeing the bullets thud into any exposed skin and ricocheting off the armour. There was no blood, no apparent pain, but the onslaught did make the giants falter a couple of steps.

“Robin!” Jason heard Tim yell behind them. “Move them back from the line!”

He saw the glint of metal batarangs as Tim threw his hands out again and again, moving around and drawing the second one’s attention away.

Jason flung himself out of reach of another crack of the whip and aimed the next full clip at the thing’s knees. 

The bullets tore through legs as thick as tree trunks and the giant stumbled forward, lunging towards Jason with its sword as it struggled to stay upright. He leapt over the point of metal and flame, and kept firing. 

The thing roared again and pushed forward, staggering out of the green fire that still clung to the rubble and onto open ground. 

Jason saw his opportunity and dashed in close, yanking a knife out and jamming it into the mangled knee joint, dragging it as hard as he could. It felt like stabbing through damp clay but Jason managed to force it just enough. 

The giant fell forward as the joint collapsed and Jason threw himself back to avoid being crushed, rolling across the floor away from it. 

Pushing himself up, Jason saw Tim spin away from the second giant as it struck out with the whip. Tim was ready to catch it as it wound tight around his staff and he used the momentum to wrench it out of the giant’s hand. 

Tim was only just able to avoid the sword swinging down on him as the giant yelled its fury and redoubled its attack.

Jason launched himself across the rubble and stretched out a hand to scoop up the still burning whip, flinging his arm around and sending the tip flying towards the second giant as it lunged at Tim again. 

He felt a freeze shoot up his arm where he gripped it but held on as the whip cracked across its legs, giving Tim enough time to get clear as its attention snapped to Jason. 

Jason drew the whip back to strike again, but was jerked backwards onto the ground when a cold vice gripped his arm. Standing over him, the first giant struggled to stay upright on its bullet-riddled leg as it dragged Jason along the ground.

Jason tried to kick out at it but failed as a huge fist pounded into his thigh sending jolts of pain through him.

The giant grabbed the front of his jacket and lifted Jason clear off the floor, pulling him in close and Jason felt cold, damp air wash over him as the huge scales flexed and Jason caught sight of furious black eyes beneath. 

The cold seeped into his blood, his heart and his mind, and turned to terror.


	39. Chapter 38

The fear was overwhelming. Jason’s skin crawled, his lungs seized and all he could hear was the frantic rush of his own blood. 

He clawed at the huge hands holding him up and clamping around his already broken ribs, his mind screaming at him to get away.

Without warning, Jason was pitched sideways and dropped onto the rubble. His vision blurred with the pain and Jason shook his head as he rolled onto his hands and knees, trying to force his eyes to focus. 

When he looked up, Jason saw a fiery blur smash into the giant that had dropped him, forcing it back. Kori flew around its head and dived back in, hammering its shoulder and forcing it down again. 

Across the collapsed building, Jason saw Tim and Damian whirling around the second giant, going for the legs to slow it down.  
Nothing seemed to hurt them. 

But the fear, Jason thought, the fear was something he’d experienced before.

“Roy,” Jason panted. “Roy!”

“Jay? You alright down there?”

“Get the Hades machine out!” Jason said as spotted one of his guns amongst the debris and scrabbled forward.

“What?”

“We need the fucking machine Roy! Now!”

“How do you –? Never mind, I’m on it.” 

Jason climbed to his feet and scanned the ground for his other gun but came up short. 

A shout snapped his attention to where Damian was trapped on the ground with a foot on his chest. At some point it had lost it’s sword and was leaning over Damian with huge fists.

When Jason saw Tim climbing to his feet, blood smeared across his mouth as he launched himself back at the giant, Jason started running. 

Jason ran straight up a slab of concrete and leapt off it, outstretched arms aiming for the thing’s head. The collision knocked it back and off Damian as Jason wrapped his legs around the giant’s back and shoved into the plates of its armour. 

The giant reared back and grabbed at Jason’s ankle, wrenching it forward. Jason clung on as he kicked out, his fingers dug into the metal plates.

Beneath him, Jason saw flashes of black and red as Tim managed to pull the hand away from Jason before the thing turned and shoved Tim away. 

Jason pushed himself up, determined to empty his gun into this thing’s fucking head. 

The giant thrashed underneath him and Jason vaguely registered Damian scrambling away as his fingers worked under the lip of metal. The freezing cold soaked him as touched the thing but he ignored it as he put all of his strength into getting the metal plates to shift. 

Jason jammed the barrel of his gun into the gap and pulled the trigger, feeling the bullet slam into its head.

Again the giant’s hands came up and this time ripped him forwards over its own head, smashing Jason onto the ground. 

Jason felt his helmet smack hard against the rubble and absorb the impact, flinging himself forward and bringing his gun up to fire straight into the thing’s knee.

It heaved Jason up and threw him across the ground but Jason rolled with it and pushed himself up, trying to turn back as something collided with him and dragged him backwards.

Jason lashed out with the butt of his gun, bringing it down on the grip on his arm. Pushing away, Jason whirled around, his finger finding the trigger when his target came into focus. 

Tim. 

Jason had no time to think more than that when he was thrown into the air as the ground exploded beneath him. 

When Jason came to, the air was thick with dust, the red hood was cracked and Jason felt his lungs convulse as he tried to breathe. He pulled it off his head and coughed into the dirt.

Sitting up, there was too much pain to tell exactly what he’d damaged, but Jason could guess it was a fair amount. 

Kori was next him a moment later, pulling him to his feet and checking him over, asking where he was injured.

“I don’t know,” Jason said in response to her questions. “I don’t know, it all just fucking hurts. You alright? Where’s Tim?”

The two giants were gone, and Jason looked around until he saw Tim kneeling next to Damian a little way away. He stepped forward but Kori held him back. 

“Didn’t you hear Roy?” Kori’s face was full of concern.

“Hear him when?” 

“When he was firing at them? Jay, he was yelling at you to move but you just kept going back in.”

“I didn’t hear,” Jason said as he tried to remember the fight and only came up with the echo of his rage. 

If he’d lost it again, well, Jason wasn’t sure what that meant, as he stared at the helmet in his hands.

“The hood was damaged,” Jason said, grasping hold of the first excuse that came to mind. “I wasn’t hearing anything.”

Kori looked at the cracked helmet with doubt before she brought her gaze up to Jason again. “You don’t what you look like when the rage takes over.”

“It wasn’t –” The lie died in his mouth as Kori frowned. Jason glanced over to where Tim was now helping Damian stand and sighed.

“Alright, fine,” Jason said. “But it wasn’t bad. It wasn’t, don’t look at me like that, it just happened and then it was over.”

Kori stepped closer and lowered her voice. “You almost shot Tim.” 

“No, Kor, I –”

“This thing, him working with us, being in Gotham, it’s not good for you,” she said. “Whatever happens with Hades, we need to start thinking about leaving, before something worse happens.”

“Hood!” 

The shout stopped Jason from reeling too much as Damian came marching over. 

“What was that ridiculous display?” the tiny Demon demanded.

“Robin, stop, you’re injured,” Tim said, following.

“Stop pawing at me, I am perfectly fine,” Damian snapped. “Hood, I demand you explain yourself.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, little psycho,” Jason said and looked at Tim instead. “You alright?”

Tim opened his mouth to answer but Damian cut him off. 

“If he’s not injured, it would be no thanks to you. Batman allows you to get away with many things but even he would have drawn a line at you shooting Red Robin.”

“He didn’t shoot me,” Tim said. 

“He would have.” Damian didn’t take his eyes off Jason. “Because he is an out of control thug who shouldn’t be allowed in Gotham.”

“This is my city, you fucking brat,” Jason growled.

“Not anymore,” Damian retorted. “When Batman finds out what you did, that’ll be the end of this ridiculous charade. You’re not one of us.”

“Robin!” Tim said sharply. 

“You’re fucking right about that,” Jason said. “I’m nothing like you and thank fuck for that, you fucking little brat, even your own mother couldn’t stand –”

“Hood, stop,” Tim said. “This isn’t helping.”

Damian bristled, a hand on his sword.

“Come on,” Kori said, tugging at his shoulder. “We need to go.”

“Listen to the alien,” Damian said as Kori turned back to the ship and Damian strode away with a huff. 

Jason took a step closer to Tim just as Tim moved closer to him. 

“I wasn’t going to shoot you,” Jason said quietly. 

“I know,” Tim said.

“Red Robin!” Damian shouted. 

Tim stepped back. “He’s injured. I have to take him back to the Cave.”

Jason just nodded. 

“Red Robin!”

Tim rolled his eyes and turned away with an exasperated sigh. "I'll call you later."

Jason watched him go in silence.


	40. Chapter 39

“If your Replacement hadn’t gone after you, you would have been fucking vaporised,” Roy huffed over Jason’s shoulder as he cleaned his bloodied hands. 

“I couldn’t hear a fucking thing, alright? I’m fucking sorry,” Jason said. His ribs were screaming at him as he leant over the sink.

“You’ve never had this fucking much of a reaction to being in Gotham since I’ve known you.” Roy started throwing bandages in a box. “The sooner we get out of here the better.”

Jason turned around and leant against the sink. “Can we just focus on the job? Then we can figure out what happens next.”

“What happens next is all that’s keeping me fucking sane. Because if we don’t get out of this fucking town soon I am going to go as crazy as you.”

Jason threw a flannel at him. “Thanks for your support, bud.”

“You’re welcome,” Roy said, as it slapped him in the face. “Alright, let me see.”

Jason held out his hands. His broken ribs, his wrenched shoulder and ankle, and the bruising across his back had already been dealt with. Jason wasn’t operating at his peak.

He sat down and put his hands on the table next to Roy, palms up, displaying where he’d practically shredded the skin trying to pry the metal plates off.

“It should be enough of a red flag for you that you don’t even notice doing shit like this,” Roy said as he worked. “These fucking Bats. At least Daddy’s out of town –”

“I’ve told you about that word before, I know I have.” 

“Because no way would we have gotten you out of there today if he’d been there.”

“Come on, don’t you think that’s a bit dramatic?”

“Moi?” Roy said with mock surprise, clutching his chest. “How dare you. That is an accurate fucking assessment of the situation and you know it.”

“Whatever you say, sweetheart.”

“I know you’re pandering but I’m choosing to believe that you know I’m right.”

Jason grinned. “And you question my relationship with reality.”

Roy finished wrapping Jason’s hands and stood up. “You are a walking disaster. Where’s Kori? She’ll back me up.”

Jason followed Roy down to the control room, trying not to limp, where Kori was watching over the ship.

“Tell him he’s a disaster,” Roy demanded as he walked in. 

“You’re a disaster,” Kori said without looking up from her computer. 

“You talking to me or him?” Jason asked. 

“Yes.” Kori smiled. 

“Traitor.” Roy slumped into a chair at the table. “Are we going to discuss how you knew the Hades machine would work?”

Jason leant against the doorframe. “Divine inspiration.”

“You’re hilarious.”

“I’m serious,” Jason said. “Look it was a guess, the cold fire, the timing, the fucking unnatural nature of the things. Nothing we were hitting them with was working. I called in the big guns.”

Jason had known that they would eventually get to that question. His own pride kept him from admitting that Hades scared the shit out of him, so he’d needed something plausible. 

“You’re one lucky son of a bitch.”

Jason laughed. “No one’s ever accused me of being lucky.”

“Different standards, for Outlaws,” Kori added. 

Roy stood up and crossed over to one of the ship interfaces. “Well, at least now we know that they’re probably connected. I’m going to get the ship to run through all the footage and see if we can’t find anything useful. We still have fuck all on the main attraction.”

As Roy talked, Jason’s phone vibrated in his pocket. Pulling it out, he read the one brief message.

Heading back to my place. 

Tim had made it out of the cave then. Fucking finally. 

“If you don’t need me then,” Jason announced, starting to turn in the doorway. “I’m heading out.”

Kori frowned. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“It’ll be swarming with Bats,” Roy said.

“I think I know how to handle myself here, of all places.”

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

“Come on, I’m not delicate,” Jason said, irritation flaring.

Roy raised his eyebrow. “You really going to stand there and tell me that they aren’t getting to you?”

Jason shook his head. “It’s not like that.”

Roy and Kori exchanged glances. 

“Jay,” Kori started. “You haven’t been yourself since Titan Tower.”

“How many times in the last year have you lost it? Compared to the last five days?” Roy added.

Jason rubbed a hand across his eyes. “For fuck’s sake, I’m not crazy!”

“No,” Kori said. “No. You were killed, and tortured, and getting yourself back was a long road. We don’t want to see all of that threatened because of the people that failed you.”

Jason stared at her as the words reverberated inside his skull. The both of them just waited, looking at Jason, until he couldn’t stand it. 

“I’ll be back in the morning,” was all Jason said as he walked away. 

Rage - his defence, his only defence for years - swirled under his skin, an ever-present reminder of the lives he’d lived.

Failed? Jason thought, as he left the ship. No. Betrayed. And enough times to know better. In the end, he should never have trusted anyone not to screw him over. Every time he’d believed, he’d been an idiot. 

That’s what brought the Outlaws together. They knew betrayal. 

Jason knew that Roy and Kori were right, that in the last few days he’d been more volatile, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out what was happening. 

Jason was watching what had happened to him, happen to Tim.

There was a hell of a lot of shit in Jason’s history that kept that the anger with him. He hated that fucking clown, he hated that Bruce never got to him in time, he hated Talia for using him when he was a goddamn zombie. 

But what made him truly fucking furious was that it had been so easy for them to move on. It had been so easy to forget, and put things in the places that he used to be. So easy for them to twist and warp Jason’s memory into something that wasn’t even his. 

And now they had moved on from Tim, all but forgotten that he had ever stepped into those spaces as well. Only they expected him to accept it. They expected him to disappear like Jason had, without the luxury of dying. 

Tim was his Replacement. His. Tim deserved the respect they had never shown Jason.

Yeah, he was angry. He had every fucking right to be. 

On his bike, Jason drove to the discreet garage entrance that he and Tim had left earlier on, positioning himself where he knew he’d activate any motion sensors. 

After a minute, the door mechanism triggered, and Jason headed inside. 

Riding into the underground garage, Jason saw Tim leant against one of his cars, waiting. 

Jason parked up, leaving his helmet and keys on the bike seat, and walked towards him. 

"You look as good as I feel,” Jason said with a grimace. 

“Mild concussion, two fractured fingers, wrenched shoulder,” Tim said. “Plus some of your work undone, again. But I’ll live.”

Jason huffed a laugh. “An autobiography, by Tim Drake. What about the Bat Brat?”

Tim rolled his eyes. “A fucking nightmare. Would not stop yelling, barely let Alfred look at him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was currently stabbing all the cushions in the Manor. I’m not sure he appreciated being stepped on.”

Jason grinned. “Poor little psycho. So embarrassed in front of his wise and superior predecessors.”

“I’m sure Dick will soothe his bruised ego,” Tim said, with only a hint of bitterness. 

“Fine by me. I have other plans,” Jason said, raising an eyebrow.

“Such as?” Tim asked. 

Jason wrapped an arm around Tim’s shoulders and drew him alongside as Jason started for the lift. 

“What would you say to taking huge amounts of drugs and lying the fuck down?”

Tim let himself be pulled into the lift. “Sounds like my ideal Friday night.”

Jason smiled and then paused, slightly confused. “Is it Friday?”

Tim opened his mouth and then closed it again before speaking as the lift shot upwards. 

“I don’t know.”


	41. Chapter 40

Jason had to let Tim go ahead of him as they walked down the narrow passage from the lift to the hallway and followed him into Tim’s kitchen. 

“Tea, morphine, sleep,” Tim said. “In that order.”

“No objections here,” Jason replied as he sat on one of the barstools. 

Tim flipped the switch on the kettle and pulled out a box of teabags.

“Teabags?” Jason said. “Alfred would be appalled.”

Tim snorted. “Alfred would be appalled that I didn’t put out a full tea service and sandwiches.”

“And he’d be right. Shocking behaviour. You’re a terrible host, I’ve said it before.”

“I bring shame on my family,” Tim deadpanned as he poured the hot water out and handed Jason a steaming mug.

Jason grinned and clinked his mug against Tim’s. “I’ll drink to that.”

Tim laughed and Jason felt an odd sense of pride.

“So, it seems that the ‘Hades has left Gotham’ theory is no longer a front-runner,” Tim said, sitting beside Jason. 

“Seems so,” Jason agreed. “Not that it’s any help in finding the bastard.”

“No. Difficult to think with Damian’s shouting,” Tim said with a huff.

“We’ll find something,” Jason said, leaning against Tim slightly. “Thought maybe that there’d been an underground explosion, when we first got to the site today, but maybe it was the consequence of bringing those giant fuckers from the other side.”

“Some kind of portal?”

“Anything’s possible,” Jason mumbled, the shooting pains the only thing keeping him awake. “Those kinds of portals are usually unstable. If the energy transference went from here to there, that would explain the cold.”

Tim jolted beside him, accidentally shoving his shoulder.

“Ow,” Jason said, as Tim slipped off the stool.

“That’s genius!” Tim exclaimed from somewhere behind where Jason was pulling himself upright again. 

“What are you doing?” Jason grumbled. 

“Low level seismic activity is pretty constant, especially with where we are on the coast, but if there was a way to register localised temperature drops it might start to narrow down locations that Hades had been crossing the boundaries, if that’s something that he does often, or at the very least give us a head start on the next time he tries something like today, and this was at the river and when he arrived it was at the dock, so maybe water had something to do with it, it’s a longshot sure but it’s a fucking start and over time we just keep narrowing it down.”

The words poured out of Tim, and Jason watched with a frown as Tim opened up his laptop and settled himself in front of it, clearly expecting no response to his babbling. 

Jason, however, had been promised painkillers and sleep, and as he watched the engine of Tim’s mind begin to rev up, he knew his plans were threatened. 

Jason stood up, silently walked over to Tim, and shut the laptop.

Tim snatched his fingers out just before they were crushed. “What the fuck?”

“No.” Jason ignored the protest in his damaged muscles as he pulled Tim up and tucked him into his side. “Painkillers. Sleep.”

Jason began steering the two of them towards the medkit, still laid out on the counter. 

“But you’re right!” Tim protested. “You’re right about the cold and if you’re right about the explosion and I’m right about the water then we can start narrowing down –”

“Painkillers. Sleep,” Jason repeated as he rifled through the kit with his spare arm as he kept Tim in place with the other. “All the rest of this shit will still be here tomorrow.”

“But –”

“No. Take this.”

“I don’t need – ah, ow, fuck!” Tim flinched as Jason jabbed at the bruising on his chest. 

“Take this and fucking sleep, Replacement. Or I will stay right here and make you suffer.”

“Fine, fuck, fine. Alright.”

Jason practically lifted Tim off the floor as he did his best to march, rather than limp, down the hallway to the bedroom, setting him back down next to the bed.

Jason stripped quickly, throwing his clothes in any direction until he was down to his boxers and flopped onto the bed with a groan.

When he glanced over, Tim was looking at him with an expression that Jason would have been delighted to see at any other time.

“No,” Jason said loudly, throwing the first thing he could grab at Tim. “Stop it. I need to sleep.”

The pillow smacked Tim in the face and dropped to the floor. He looked embarrassed for a moment before he pulled his own shirt off and threw it at Jason. 

“Shut the fuck up.” Tim kicked his trousers off and crawled next to Jason. “I’m allowed to look.”

“Let me get some actual fucking rest babybird, and I’ll let you do a lot more than look.”

“I’m supposed to be keeping my blood pressure down, you bastard,” Tim said as he shuffled about until Jason felt a leg wrap around his. 

Jason just chuckled and relished in the softness of the mattress underneath him. 

“Jason?” Tim’s voice was hesitant.

“What?”

“Is this weird?”

“Only when I think about it,” Jason sighed.

Tim didn’t say anything else. 

When Jason woke up, Tim was still next to him, sleeping quietly. 

Jason had the vague impression that he’d dreamt about Tim, thankful that these days he rarely remembered his dreams. It hadn’t been that way when he’d first come out of the Pit. 

A lot of things had changed since Jason was first resurrected. Actually resurrected, rather than whatever had happened that caused him to wake up in that box. Jason didn’t have any memories from that time, just a vague unease around graveyards, but Talia had eventually told him.

Looking at Tim’s relaxed expression, Jason wondered what would have happened if he’d succeeded in his goal to kill his Replacement. Would Jason have gotten his sanity back? Would he have ever come back to Gotham? Would he even have felt guilty?

Jason’s eyes examined the cuts and bruises on Tim’s face and arms that Jason put there, only in the last few days. He hadn’t meant to hurt Tim, and that had to count for something. It had to. 

Underneath the fresh layer of injuries, there was evidence of older ones. Jason wondered if any of those were from him, too. 

“That’s the second time I’ve woken up to you staring at me,” Tim mumbled. 

Jason felt the clouds in his head retreating even as he stared into storm-blue eyes blinking slowly awake. 

“Last time, I got coffee,” Tim added. 

“Last time, you were a guest,” Jason said. “Yet another example of you being a terrible –”

“A terrible host, yes,” Tim finished for him. “Fine, I’ll go –”

Jason rolled on top of him as Tim made to move. “No. You’re not going anywhere.”

Tim’s surprise turned into a darker expression as he grinned up at Jason, and Jason felt warm hands snake around his waist.

“But you’re right, I am a terrible host. I really should go and –”

“Don’t you fucking dare, you little shit,” Jason said, before leaning down to kiss him hard.


	42. Chapter 41

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're not into explicit sexual content, maybe just skim this chapter...

Tim kissed Jason back with an intensity that sent shivers down Jason’s spine. He felt drunk on soft lips and tongue, light-headed for lack of air but refusing to pull away.

Jason braced himself over Tim fully, pressing his hips down and feeling Tim’s already growing hardness. Sparks of heat shot into his lungs and his stomach, and Jason needed more, needed to touch Tim, feel him, hear him. 

Jason pushed himself onto his hands and knees, kissing along the edge of Tim’s jaw and scraping his teeth down his neck. Tim protested the loss of contact, the arms around Jason’s waist trying to pull him back down, but Jason gripped his side, pushing his thumb into Tim’s hip and holding him in place. 

Tim tipped his head back as he gave into Jason, breathing shallow as Jason kissed and bit his way along Tim’s collarbone. 

Crawling slowly backwards, Jason dragged his lips lightly across Tim’s bruised chest, feeling muscles tense as Tim fought to keep himself still under Jason’s mouth. Tim gasped when Jason licked gently at the sensitive edges of each long cut on his stomach, his hands fisting into the sheets, but didn’t move. 

Jason ran his hand down Tim’s leg, wrapping around his thigh and sat back on his heels, ghosting his fingers over Tim’s cock before pulling at the band of his underwear. 

“Fuck, babybird,” Jason breathed as he slid Tim’s boxers off and tossed them on the floor. The full extent of his injuries were on display in a way that Jason had not taken onboard the night before. As well as his face, his chest and stomach, Tim was wearing a support on one knee, ankle swollen, dark bruising covering older injuries.

“Fucking stubborn bastard,” Jason said, kissing up the inside of Tim’s thigh.

“Pot and fucking kettle,” Tim said, head still tipped back over the pillow. 

Jason smiled against Tim’s skin, moving further and kissing up to the edge of Tim’s balls, sucking them lightly into his mouth. Pulling back, Jason kissed the base of Tim’s cock, licking a teasing path around the skin, relishing in every twitch and shudder he drew out. 

“Jason!” Tim barked, holding his body so fucking still Jason thought he would hurt himself.

Taking mercy on him, Jason stretched his lips over the head of Tim’s cock, running his tongue over the slit and swallowing the taste of salt. 

Tim jerked and gasped as Jason finally started to move, sliding down the shaft and sucking hard. Jason’s hands explored Tim’s skin, roaming between his legs and pushing under his arse.

His fingers spread into the cleft and Jason brushed the edges of Tim’s hole. He wanted so badly to send Tim over the edge, to have him in every way he could, to make Tim remember this.

Jason pulled off Tim’s cock, spit down his chin, and looked up the length of his body, stretched out and almost shaking with tension. 

“Tim,” Jason panted, his voice hoarse. “Do you want –”

“Yes!” Tim cut across him. “Yes, fuck, yes.”

“Do you have –”

Tim rolled away from him and leant over the side of the bed, Jason letting him go as he stared at the muscles on Tim’s back and down to the swell of his backside.

When Tim pulled himself back up, he had a bottle in his hand and made to roll back over but Jason held him in place. He leant down and bit the sensitive skin at the top of Tim’s leg, licking over to the back of his balls and up towards his hole. 

Tim groaned and let his head fall onto the bed as Jason stole the bottle from his hand with a kiss to the small of his back. 

Jason licked over Tim’s hole, feeling the puckered skin twitch under his tongue, and began swirling wet, open-mouthed kisses over it. 

Above him, Tim gasped into the mattress, thrusting his hips forward where his cock was trapped between him and the bed. 

As the velvet ring of muscle relaxed, Jason sat back and flipped the bottle cap open, pouring lube over his fingers. He tossed the bottle away and gripped Tim’s arse as his wet fingers stroked at the rim. 

When he pushed two fingers forward gently, without breaching him, Tim cried out in frustration and shoved his hips back to try to get Jason inside him. 

Jason pressed forward and watched as both his fingers disappeared into tight heat and Tim bucked his hips again. 

Sliding deeper with each thrust, Jason fucked Tim with his fingers, hooking them inside to drag against his prostate and tease his rim as he pulled out. 

Tim’s thrusts into the mattress became more desperate and incoherent noises started spilling out of his mouth, muffled by the sheets. 

Jason wanted to hear him, needed to hear him, and pulled his fingers out completely. Tim didn’t have a chance to react as Jason rolled him back over and pushed his leg up, slipping his fingers back inside with a harsh thrust. 

Tim grabbed at the bed and moaned, writhing at the loss of pressure against his cock.

“Jason, please, please!”

Jason moved his other hand to circle Tim’s cock and let him thrust up into his fist. His heart was racing as he felt the climax building through Tim’s body, feeling his cock throb in his hand and hole clench around his fingers. Jason was desperate to see Tim fall apart. 

“Jason!” Tim cried. “Jay, fuck me, please, fuck me!”

Jason gasped, suddenly aware of his own aching hardness, the idea of fucking Tim now blinding him to any other thoughts.

“You want – do you want –?” Jason panted. 

“Fuck me, I want it, please, for the love of fuck, please,” Tim pleaded, lifting his head to look Jason in the eyes. 

“Shit,” Jason breathed and grabbed at the bottle of lube, releasing Tim’s erection. He slid his fingers out and poured more lube onto them, coating himself with it. 

He pulled Tim’s legs over his thighs, and guided himself forward. The tip of his cock pressed against Tim’s hole and Jason felt a moment of resistance before the ring of muscle gave and he felt tight heat grip his length. 

Tim swore and fell back again as Jason pushed deeper, rocking his hips as he tried to give Tim time to adjust, tried not to snap forward and fuck Tim as roughly as he wanted. 

Jason knew he wouldn’t last long as his watched his whole length drive into Tim’s body and as Tim loosened around him, Jason let himself push faster. 

Tim’s hands flew over his head and gripped the headboard as he moaned with every thrust. The sounds reverberated through Jason and he felt his balls draw up tight. 

Jason held onto his climax with everything he had and brought his lubed hand to Tim’s leaking erection, jerking him with fast, tight strokes as Jason started to lose control of himself. 

He fucked Tim hard, so close to the edge but refusing to let go as he pushed Tim further. 

“Fuck, ah, fuck, Jay!” Tim shouted as his body shook and he arched off the bed, and Jason felt him come over his hand and his own stomach.

Jason fucked him through it, the tight clenching of Tim’s hole around him destroying the last of his self-control as he drove brutally towards his own climax. He came hard inside Tim, pushing as deep as possible as he completely emptied himself, hearing himself shout with no idea what he was saying.

Falling forward onto his hands, still inside Tim and gasping for air, Jason couldn’t speak, couldn’t think, could only drop his head to rest it on Tim’s chest, and felt Tim’s racing heartbeat match Jason’s own.


	43. Chapter 42

Jason pulled out slowly, pressing a kiss to Tim’s chest and felt Tim’s hands tangle into his hair. 

“Fucking hell,” he heard Tim say. 

Jason tried to speak and failed, making a strangled noise of agreement. 

Eventually, Jason recovered enough to look up at Tim, seeing him staring back with wide, dazed eyes. Jason crawled forward and kissed him, sloppy and off-balance, but determined, before collapsing onto his side. 

“Fuck me,” Jason breathed. 

“Sorry to disappoint, but I really can’t right now,” Tim chuckled. 

Jason laughed as he stared at the ceiling. “We’ll shelve that for later then.”

“Sure thing, later, after food, and coffee, and probably a few stretches.”

“And a shower,” Jason added. 

“Yes,” Tim agreed. “Definitely a shower.”

Tim sat up and looked down at himself. “Ugh, what I wouldn’t give to stand under hot water for an hour, but these stitches are not going to hold up to that.”

“Want me to give you a sponge bath?” Jason grinned.

“That’s not as erotic as you seem to think it is,” Tim deadpanned. “If you want to do something truly romantic, you’ll go put the coffee on.”

Tim pushed himself off the bed and headed for the bathroom. Jason, hand and cock still covered in lube, figured it was a good idea to follow. 

The bright light and mirror had Jason laughing at his reflection. Flushed, sweaty, messed up hair on top of all the injuries made him look like a trainwreck. 

“What’s so funny?” Tim said, looking out from behind the curtain over the bathtub.

“Trying to decide if the ‘just-fucked’ look has improved my sorry reflection.”

“It has, trust me,” Tim said as he disappeared back behind the glass. 

Jason grinned as he cleaned himself up at the sink, enough to go start on breakfast anyway, and grabbed his jeans from the bedroom before heading into the kitchen. 

Tim’s coffee machine had far too many buttons to be necessary, but Jason eventually got it onto the right programme as it started to drip into the pot. 

This time, Jason was prepared when he opened the fridge and was confronted by the many dishes Alfred had packed away. He chose a pasta dish that could be eaten cold, but as he sorted through the options Jason noticed a couple of the back ones had started to grow mould. He pulled them out to throw away, wondering how long they’d been there.

He was too hungry to feel melancholy as he dished up the food into bowls he’d found in the dishwasher and rinsed under the tap. Finding anything clean in this place was a fucking mission, Jason discovered. Tim clearly did not give a shit about this place. 

Jason had managed to get everything together and lay it out by the time Tim came to find him, wearing only a pair of soft, loose trousers that hung low on his hips. Tim’s bruised chest was covered with a thick layer of salve, but even with that Jason had the urge to push against the nearest wall and kiss him senseless. 

Jason was about to tell him to sit down when Tim changed. His expression went blank, his body went rigid and he held himself still.

“Kon.”

Jason whirled around and saw, floating outside the window, Superboy. 

Kon was staring at Tim and Jason, eyes wide with shock as he hung in the air. 

“Are you fucking kidding me, Superbrat?” Jason yelled through the glass. 

That seemed to break Kon out of his stupor and he jerked back before flying upwards and out of view. 

“What the fuck is he even doing here?” Jason said as he turned back to Tim. 

“I don’t know,” Tim said, his voice quiet. 

Jason hated it. All the openness, all the easiness between them had gone in a heartbeat, and this fucking failed supervillain experiment was the reason Jason had to watch Tim shut down. 

Jason needed his guns. 

“Jason, stop,” Tim’s voice cut through his thoughts. “I will deal with this.”

Tim’s order caught Jason off guard, and he was momentarily stunned, enough time for Tim to disappear back down the hall. 

Jason came back to his senses with a growl. “I don’t fucking think so.”

He stormed after Tim, thinking that he was absolutely going to start carrying Kryptonite wherever he went from now on. 

As it was, Jason didn’t have anything that could really hurt Superman’s clone, but that didn’t mean that he was out of options. 

Tim had gone through the door leading to the roof, but Jason ducked into the bedroom to grab his guns.

When he got back to the door, Kon was already inside and shouting. 

“With the Red Hood? The Red Hood, of all people! He tried to kill you! He’s a murderer! This is the same guy that decapitated a bunch of Gotham crimelords and put their heads in a bag, right? You can’t be serious!”

“You need to calm down,” Jason heard Tim say.

“How can I be calm? How can you expect me to be calm? How long has this been going on? Is this why you went with him? Is this why you won’t –”

“Kon, stop!” Tim shouted. “Why are you here?”

“I just wanted to see you, Rob, I wanted you to talk to me! I knew I had a couple of days before Batman got back and – oh my god, does Batman know about this? Does Clark? Or Nightwing?”

Jason’s anger swelled as he saw Tim’s already rigid outline tense even more at Kon’s words and he was moving before he could think better of it. 

“I don’t think that’s any of your fucking business, clone boy” Jason announced from the doorway, gun resting in his hand. 

“Not my business? You tried to kill him! I won’t let you do it again,” Kon said as he squared his shoulders. 

“You really think you’d stand a chance against me?”

“Whatever it takes to keep Tim safe.”

“Because you’re just the bestest of friends, are you? That’s why he’s so happy to see you?” Jason said with a mocking tone. 

Kon’s face dropped like a stone and he took a step toward Jason.

“Kon,” Tim said sharply, and Kon stopped, throwing Tim a guilty look. 

“Wait here,” Tim ordered as he walked towards Jason. 

Tim pushed past him into the hall, and Jason gave Kon one last threatening smile before he turned and followed.

Tim stopped a few paces on and turned around, keeping his voice low. “You’re not helping.”

“This isn’t a helping kind of situation,” Jason said. “He just needs to fuck off.”

“Well he’s not going to if you provoke him into a fight in my fucking home,” Tim hissed. “He came here to talk –”

“He came here to ruin my fucking day apparently,” Jason mumbled. 

“And I will talk to him, because he is my friend, and I can do that.”

“He seems a bit over-friendly to me.”

“Just, just let me deal with this. Give me a couple of hours,” Tim said, putting his hand on Jason’s arm. 

“Hours? With that super-disaster?”

“Trust me to deal with this,” Tim said slowly, moving into Jason’s space and looking up at him. 

Jason looked down into Tim’s eyes, at the openness in the storm that he glimpsed for a second behind Tim’s rigid self-control.

“Fine,” Jason relented. “You deal with the clone. I’ll be on the ship.”

“Thank you,” Tim said. 

“Yeah, well,” Jason said, unsure what else to say. He caught sight of the places he’d laid out in the kitchen. “Eat your fucking breakfast.”


	44. Chapter 43

Jason left quickly, unwilling to stick around and listen to the clone begging Tim to go back to him. He wasn’t an idiot. Jason knew what Kon was after. 

His mood didn’t improve on the ride over to the ship. Jason kept hearing Kon’s voice on repeat.

Does Batman know about this? Does Clark?

Clark was one of the extremely few who could affect Bruce’s opinion. Jason thought it was because Superman was too fucking honest, and Bruce could never find any ulterior motive in his opinions. And they’d been friends, real friends, and Bruce didn’t have any of those, for long enough that Bruce would listen to Clark, and truly consider what he had to say. 

If Superbrat started chatting shit about Jason and Tim, and Clark decided to have opinions, it could cause a problem. 

Yep, Jason decided. Kryptonite. In every pocket. At all times. 

When the ship’s ramp lowered and Jason drove up into the hold, Kori was waiting for him. 

“I’m not sorry,” she said simply. 

“I’m not mad at you,” Jason replied. 

Kori nodded, and fell into step with him as they walked inside. “Any news from the city?”

“I have some adjustments to make to the scans, mainly based on a bit of guesswork but it could help,” Jason explained as they entered the main control room. 

“Guesswork?” Roy interjected from where he was sat at the table. “Low probability? Long shots? Sounds like the Outlaw special.”

“Damn straight,” Jason said. “What the fuck are you doing?”

Roy gestured at various pieces of cannibalised electronics across the table. “It’s Oliver’s birthday soon.”

Jason looked a little closer and saw drawings of something that looked like a cake. “You do you, bud. I’m always up for a trip to Starling.”

“You hate Starling.”

“I also hate Gotham, and yet look at my life.” 

Jason headed over to the ship computer and started bringing up the scan parameters.

“So what’s this new info?” Roy asked.

“Three possible points of focus,” Jason said holding up fingers over his shoulder. “The water, the cold and the explosion.”

Roy and Kori came to stand either side of him while Jason started working.

“The theory is that an underground water source is necessary to open up a portal from Hades’ dimension, and doing so requires an energy transference from here to there, causing the cold and explosion.”

“It is vague, but it’s better than what we’ve had so far,” Kori nodded.

“At this point, I’ll take anything,” Roy said.

The three of them sat around the table once Jason was finished.

“Are you going to tell us why you’re in such a bad mood?” Roy asked, picking up the bottle of water he’d left by his work. 

“What bad mood?” Jason said. “I’ve done nothing.”

“Exactly,” Kori said. 

“You may think you’ve been acting normal, but you’ve had a fucking face on since you got back.”

Jason made a mental note to reconsider spending so much time with the Outlaws. He couldn’t have any fucking secrets.

Now that Superbrat knew, it was only a matter of time anyway.

He glared at them both, and waited for Roy to take a gulp from his bottle before speaking.

“I might be sleeping with my Replacement.”

The spray of liquid from Roy’s nose was the only thing that made Jason feel better as the two of them turned on him with horrified expressions.

“You fucking what?” Roy spluttered.

“Oh, Jason, why?” Kori breathed.

“It’s no one’s business but mine and his,” Jason said, annoyed at the petulant edge to his own voice.

“Fucking hell.” Roy finished choking and leant back in his chair. “And I thought you had issues before.”

“Fuck you, Harper.”

“That would have been a better idea,” Roy retorted. “Seriously, Jay. This is fucked up.”

Jason took a breath and fought the rising irritation. “Look, I get that it’s a bit weird –”

“Well that’s a fucking understatement.”

“Have you really thought this through?” Kori said, a bit too sharply for Jason’s liking. “He’s a Bat.”

“It’s different –”

“Is this like a psychological thing? Like you can’t kill him so you fuck him instead? All that pent-up rage?”

“It’s not good for you to be around them, you know that.”

“Is it some kind of fuck you to the Big B?”

“They’ll come after you for this, Jason.”

“Shut the fuck up!” Jason yelled. “Just fucking shut up for a damn second.”

Jason stood up abruptly, knocking his chair back, and paced away a few steps before turning back to them.

“Alright, let’s get a couple of things straight here,” Jason started. “Firstly, I am not hate-fucking Tim.”

Jason came back and leant against the back of the chair. “We have an understanding. Common ground. We – actually, we get on alright.”

Jason saw Roy about to open his mouth and cut over him. “You’re the one who said it was never about him, not really. I don’t hate him.”

Roy frowned. “It’s not a straight line from ‘don’t hate’ to ‘friends with benefits.’”

“It’s not all sunshine and daisies,” Jason conceded. “But we’re not trying to kill each other.”

“And there’s the fucking bar,” Roy muttered.

“You attacked him yesterday,” Kori said. “You got into more than one fight on this ship and you couldn’t even spend ten minutes together the other night. I don’t know how long this thing has been going on, but in the last week alone enough has happened to prove that it’s not a good idea.”

“I know how it looks, I do, but we were just working through some shit.” Jason knew how weak it sounded as soon as it came out of his mouth.

“Bud, I love you, you know this, but the ‘some shit’ between you and Red Robin is pretty much everything that’s happened since you died.”

Jason grimaced. “That’s a bit of an exaggeration.”

“Roy’s not entirely wrong,” Kori insisted. “Your relationship with the Bats is complicat–”

“It’s simple,” Jason said. “It’s really fucking simple. I died, and they replaced me, and then I came back. And they don’t like what I am now but they’re too fucking wrapped up in themselves to deal with it. And they replaced Tim, too, but since he didn’t die and come back wrong, they just fucking ignore him.”

Kori and Roy exchanged a look.

“Alright,” Roy said, dropping his head into his hands. “Let’s just say for a minute that you and Red manage to fuck your issues away. What happens then?”

Jason rolled his eyes. “The Bats aren’t going to frighten me off.”

“No, Jay,” Kori said. “He means what happens for the two of you? Is this a relationship? Will you stay in Gotham? Will Tim leave the Titans for good? Will he still work with everyone who thinks you’re a criminal? You know what the Justice League think of the Outlaws.”

Jason tried to process the questions as he sank back into the chair.

“I don’t fucking know,” Jason groaned. “No, none of that, I guess. I have to leave, Tim has to work. But we’ll figure it out if we want to.”

“And in the meantime, you’ll lose your mind to the Pit rage everyday because the Bats are in your face all the fucking time,” Roy added. 

“Sometimes, Roy, you are a real fucking bastard.”

“But I’m your fucking bastard. Kori too,” Roy said. “And you’re ours. We’re not going to let you walk into something backwards.”

“Or without backup,” Kori said.

Jason deflated. They were right, after all. This entire thing with Tim was too fast and too messy. But he didn’t want to give it up. 

“I get it, alright? When you say it all out loud, it sounds insane. And yes we argue and he’s still all the worst things he ever was and so am I. But, there is something else now, on top of all that.” Jason said, running a hand through his hair. “I don’t have a fucking clue what will happen. But fuck it. It can’t get any worse.”

There was silence for a moment, and then:

“You know you just jinxed it, right?”


	45. Chapter 44

“So, what are you even doing here then, when you should be basking in the glow of young love?”

The atmosphere on the ship had relaxed, now that Roy and Kori had made their point and Jason had acknowledged the absurdity of the situation. 

“Shut the fuck up,” Jason said, as he threw the first thing he could grab off the table at Roy, which turned out to be a battery. 

“Don’t tell me you came here to sulk for no reason?”

“I don’t sulk.”

“Tell your face.”

“You’re clearly unhappy about something,” Kori said, knocking his shoulder.

Jason sighed. “Superbrat turned up. Seemed about as happy to find out about us as you were.”

Roy laughed. “Please tell me he caught you in the act. That’s fucking precious.”

“As good as,” Jason smirked. “Definitely knows what he’s lost now.”

“I am unsurprised,” Kori said. “Judging by his somewhat pitiful behaviour at Titan Tower.”

“You should have seen his face,” Jason said, his smirk turning into a grin. “It was better than that photo.”

“Love your work, bud,” Roy said. “I take it you’re just going to hang out here until the clone is gone?”

“It’s not like I’m good for much else in this state,” Jason said, gesturing to his slowly healing body. 

Kori put an arm round him. “Don’t worry Jason, one day we’ll discover what you’re good for.”

Jason laughed and pushed her away. “Love you too, Kori.”

“Wanna help with Ollie’s birthday present?” Roy asked. 

Jason leant forward and picked up the sketch of the cake. “Abso-fucking-lutely.”

Jason woke up on the floor of the control room, peeling the ribbon trigger mechanism he had been working on off the side of his face. He remembered going over various plans with Roy after Kori declared she had better things to do, and then taking another dose of meds that must have knocked him out. 

Jason was feeling better, though, as he sat up and tested his shoulder. Not perfect, but functional. What more could a vigilante ask for?

The control room was empty, Roy obviously having decided to just let him sleep. He picked himself up and wandered over to the screens that showed the results of the scans, scrolling through the list of locations it was starting to build.

The computers also told him he’d been out for several hours, and that it was already early evening. 

Jason pulled out his phone and tried to push down on the irritation when it flashed up with nothing from Tim. 

Surely, he should be done already. All Tim had to do was tell the clone to fuck off.

Jason sighed and put the phone away. He wasn’t going to sit around staring at the thing. Roy would electrocute him on principle. 

He headed down the hallway in search of the others, stopping off for a couple of energy bars and checking his current ammo supply. 

A fleeting thought about the flamethrowers Jason had stolen from the League that night on the docks passed through his mind, but it was chased away by the rest of what had happened that night. 

Hades had terrified him. The giant demons, as well. Jason had to consider the possibility that he could tell when something was from hell, most likely because he had died himself. That was the reason that Hades was here, after all. Or the current theory, at least. 

What Jason didn’t want to consider was that he was still holding onto his death enough to let himself be scared out of his fucking mind when faced with, presumably, the god and henchman that ran the underworld. 

The next time Jason went up against them, he had to keep himself under control. He knew what to expect now. He would handle it. 

An alert sounded, interrupting Jason’s train of thought and he jogged over to the nearest interface. 

The ship had identified an area that fit the parameters Jason had updated earlier, and detected a rapidly cooling temperature in an underground maintenance area next to the river. 

Well, Jason thought, looks like it’s time to handle it. 

“Kori!” Jason yelled into the ship comms as he ran back to the control room. “Roy! We’ve got a hit!”

“I’m all over it, bud,” Roy’s reply came through. “Getting connected to cameras in the area now.”

“I’m getting us there,” Jason said. He went straight for the flight controls and set the ship to move up over the coordinates, putting it in the Gotham cloud cover. 

As the engines fired up and he felt the dampners kick in, Jason ran back to the armoury and loaded up with the most potent shit he could carry; anything electric, electromagnetic, stun grenades, actual grenades, scatter-shot ammo. 

If they were going up against more demon giants, Jason’s job would be to slow them down until Roy could get in position to hit them with the Hades machine. He needed every advantage he could get. 

By the time he’d finished and got back to the control room, Roy and Kori were waiting for him. 

“We don’t have eyes underground, but surrounding cameras show a change in waterflow,” Roy said.

“Alright,” Jason said. “Same as before. Kori and I slow them down, you take them out.”

“If they’re down there, you’ll need to draw them up,” Roy pointed out. “I need a clear shot.”

“Sure, act as bait for the giant demonic henchman.” Jason shrugged. “Piece of cake. Kori?”

“I’m just looking forward to hitting something.”

“Fair,” Jason said. 

“We’re almost there,” Roy said, leaning over the control panel, and broke out his best fake customer service voice “Would passengers Hood and Fire please make their way to the boarding gate?”

Kori smiled and turned away, Jason laughing as he followed after her. 

On the short walk down to the ramp, Jason pulled his phone out and called Tim. 

After a few rings, it was sent to Tim’s secure voicemail. Jason tried not to be disappointed. 

“Hey Replacement, we got a hit off the scans, going to check it out now.”

When he hung up, Jason saw Kori frowning at him. 

“What?”

Kori sighed, and shook her head. “I trust you to make your own decisions, Jason.”

“You’d be the first.”

Kori smiled and put her arm round Jason. “Maybe remind him that I could beat Superman in a fight.”

“Absolutely,” Jason grinned, pulling his helmet on and putting his arm around her in return.

The alarm sounded above them, and the ramp began to drop under their feet. Wind roared and rain whipped around them as they walked towards the edge. 

This far up into the cloud cover, Gotham was just a collection of hazy lights below.

“Why is there never any sun in this city?” Kori yelled over the noise.

“Pathetic fallacy,” Jason yelled back, as they stepped off the edge.


	46. Chapter 45

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I reckon I'm nearly there with this whole chapter-estimate thing. The story is nearly there. I promise! 
> 
> Thank you to all the amazing commenters and kudos-ers who have kept me going!
> 
> My current goal, which I think is feasible, is to get this finished by Nov 4th. Which would make it 3 months since all this started, and then spiralled out of control...

Freefalling towards Gotham, Jason whooped as he held onto Kori, both of them happy to hurtle towards the ground. 

No one got into the vigilante game unless they were at least a bit of an adrenaline junkie. 

Kori started to slow them down, wrapping both her arms around Jason and directing them towards the access tunnels.

A few streets from their target, Jason could see traffic building up and at least two roads closed for the flooding. 

The two of them dropped next to the service entrance, and with no need to be cautious, Kori ripped the heavy metal door out of its frame, and they climbed down into the network of engineer’s tunnels. 

Echoes of shouting danced off the walls around them as soon as they reached the bottom. 

“Time to end the world’s worst game of hide-and-seek,” Jason muttered, as he recognised the voice of Hades.

Flashes of grey skin and crawling blue flames ran over his mind, but Jason thought firmly that he would not get caught up in the fear. Not this time.

Lined by regular fluorescent lighting, the tunnels were flooded by a few inches of river water. These tunnels were designed to route water away from the technicians who came down here for maintenance, so Jason knew that even this small amount of water meant problems. 

They kept moving until they could see shadows on the walls. The mess of echoes was clearer, Jason could pick out different voices, but there was something else. A rumbling separate from the rush of water.

Kori leant in close. “Hades is not alone.”

Jason grimaced. The chances of Hades being in there with something easy to kill were low. Even if he hadn’t seen the giants, Jason’s own luck was just that good.

“Whatever is in there, the plan is the same,” Jason whispered. “Draw him out, get Roy a shot.”

Kori nodded.

Kori hung back as Jason moved forward, falling into practiced roles. The Outlaws were a damn good team, part of the reason they all were still alive.

Jason crept around the corner and saw where the tunnel opened out into a larger room. Flattening himself against the wall, Jason shifted as close as he dared to get a look around the edge. 

Hades stood in the centre of the room. The blue flame curling around his skin, the mass of black robes trailing into smoke, every detail Jason remembered now in sharp focus.

No fear, Jason told himself. No fear.

Hades was not alone. He stood in front of a circle of green flames, hanging in the air, at least six feet in diameter. The flames roiled across the entire surface which, as Jason watched, formed into creature-like shapes before dissipating again. 

Its edges seemed to burn fiercest, and Jason knew that if he put his hand in it, it would be colder than ice.

“Do you think because I am not there that I cannot punish you?” Hades bellowed. “You will send them through again!”

The circle – the portal, Jason guessed – blazed and crackled, but Jason couldn’t hear any response. 

“Stupid, pathetic, useless! Fail me again and you will know suffering like no other. The Titans have already risen in this world. Time is short. When I next open the gate, I expect you to be ready.”

The blue flames running along Hades outstretched arm spark with electricity and a bolt shot into the portal, forcing it to dissipate. 

As it collapsed in on itself, Jason saw the outline of a figure emerge from the fire. 

Ra’s al Ghul. 

Ra’s was on his knees and Jason watched as he fell forwards once the portal had completely vanished, shaking on the floor. 

Jason didn’t think he could ever feel pity for the not-human-anymore madman that had tried to destroy so much of Jason’s life without a second thought, but seeing him reduced to a huddled mass of dirty clothes trembling on the floor, Jason almost thought he did. 

It was clear, however, the Hades was using Ra’s as an ingredient in opening his portals, which meant it now became Jason’s priority to fucking rescue him.

The wall farthest from them, behind where the portal had been, had partially crumbled with the force of what Jason assumed was the portal’s explosive creation. Water was rushing from between the cracks in rubble and off into the drains, with some of it flooding into the access tunnels. 

But it was the ceiling above that interested Jason. Roy needed one clear shot. And if Kori could punch through the damaged ceiling and into the street, they could give it to him.  
It was as good an opportunity as they were going to get. 

Jason pulled out a grenade, tossed it underneath the weakened part of the tunnel and leapt into the chamber fully. 

Hades whipped around and roared, stepping towards Jason, but Jason was already running at Ra’s. He threw himself on top of Ra’s and rolled them away just as the grenade detonated. 

Hades hadn’t been damaged by the blast, but it had caught his attention and it gave Jason enough time to whirl around and throw out three electric stun grenades, before dragging Ra’s further away. 

Jason’s helmet protected him from the next blasts, but Ra’s went limp in his arms, a deadweight.

The electricity sparking out of from each grenade struck Hades and for a moment the god was forced back as he shook off the effects.

Hades had no time to take another step as a fiery blur slammed into him and forced him back across the room. Kori pushed away and dived back in for another hit as Jason dragged Ra’s to the entrance of the tunnel and dropped him there, still unconscious. 

Hades struck out and caught Kori, sending her flying off balance. Jason turned back into the room as Kori barrelled into him and they both went sprawling onto the ground. 

Kori recovered first and flew as high into the chamber as she could get. Jason rolled back onto his feet and threw out more grenades, angling them up above Hades’ head towards the damaged ceiling. 

As they exploded, rubble fell in a shower around Hades, none of it hitting him but seemingly rolling off an invisible barrier as he raised his arm. 

Jason started shooting as Kori dived to hit Hades again, the two of them relentless as they fought to keep Hades pinned under the weakened roof. 

Another grenade and another shower of rock still hadn’t punched through to the surface, and it was getting harder to keep Hades pinned. Jason was trying to keep his distance, relying on his guns and projectiles, but Hades kept gaining ground. 

Kori took a bad strike and was knocked clear across the chamber and into the opposite wall, stone cracking around her before she fell to the floor. 

"Kori!" Jason yelled, but she didn't move. 

Jason kept firing as Hades turned on him, throwing out another grenade as the gap between them closed. He couldn't do this by himself. He didn't have the firepower, he didn't have the strength. He needed to get Kori out but he couldn't get close.

Jason tried not to let the desperation rise up and Hades loomed over him, the god’s black-clawed hands reaching out to him, the blue flames crawling over dead grey skin. 

Jason’s heart raced as he threw everything he had, refusing to give ground, refusing to back up. He felt the first tendrils of fear creep up his spine as Hades fixed his pitch-black eyes on Jason.

Hades laughed as he leant forward and Jason fought the freezing cold seeping into his blood.

No fear, Jason repeated. No fear, no fucking fear. 

And it was gone, as Hades was ripped backwards by a red and black blur.

Jason whirled around, stunned as Superboy crashed into Hades again, raining blow after blow.

Standing at the chamber’s entrance was Red Robin. 

“You beautiful bastard.”


	47. Chapter 46

Tim dashed forward to meet Jason as he ran towards Kori, rolling her over gently.

“Kori,” Jason barked as she stirred. “Kori!”

Kori’s eyes fluttered opened and she groaned. “That hurt.”

“I’m not fucking surprised,” Jason said, pulling her to her feet. “You good?”

Kori took a couple of deep breaths, and nodded, before looking past Jason. “Is that Superboy?”

“Yeah, the cavalry arrived,” Jason said, motioning to Tim on her other side. 

She looked around in surprise as she spotted Tim. 

“So, what exactly was your plan?” Tim asked. 

“Keep Hades under that hole until Roy can shoot through it,” Jason said. “I hope you brought explosives.”

“Please,” Tim muttered as he started pulling charges out of his belt.

Kori didn’t wait for them and flew back into the fray with Kon, the both of them keeping Hades occupied while Tim and Jason threw more explosives over his head. 

“That’s a thick layer of concrete,” Tim shouted, keeping close to Jason. “We’re still at least eight metres from the surface.”

“Well right now we’re stuck in a confined space with a very pissed-off god, so getting through it is our only option.”

“We need more firepower,” Tim yelled over the next explosion.

“I’m nearly out of grenades,” Jason shouted back as he shot another clip into the smoke surrounding Hades. “And if Roy shoots without a clear opening the tunnels will collapse on top of us.”

Tim watched the two aliens diving around Hades and grabbed hold of Jason. “Kori can superpower Kon!”

“What?”

“Kori can absorb or emit energy, she can power-up Kon and he can smash Hades through that concrete.”

“That’s – I don’t even know what kind of crazy that is!”

“We’re almost out of options here!” Tim yelled. 

Technically it was possible, but Jason knew the risks. If their combined power wasn’t enough, Kori would be down and out – they’d be fucked. 

On the other hand, they were pretty close to fucked as it was. Hades was not slowing down.

“Fine,” Jason said and opened his comms. “Kori! Can you hear me?”

Kori’s line opened and he heard the maelstrom of noise funnelling down her transmitter. “I can hear you!”

“Can you send energy into Superboy? We need to juice him up!”

“Are you serious?”

“We’re not winning this,” Jason shouted. “We need a plan B!”

“Alright, hold on!”

Kori flew out and around the room, starting to glow as she concentrated her energy. 

Next to Jason, Tim was relaying the plan to Superboy who turned in shock to see Kori bearing down on him.

Kon braced at the last second as Kori’s energy engulfed him. The blast was blinding, and as it faded, the image of Kon reappeared, Kori’s glow now visible around him.

Kori half flew, half fell to the ground and braced herself against the wall. Jason already running towards her as he saw her struggle to stay upright. 

“Now, Kon!” Jason heard Tim yell as he caught Kori before she hit the floor. 

Kon grabbed Hades and burst upwards, smashing through a huge chunk of concrete instantly. 

Jason could see the look of surprise on Hades’ face as Kon slammed him into the stone, could see the way the impact registered.

The two dropped back down and Kon dragged them up again, burying Hades into the ceiling.

It was working, their crazy fucking plan was working – Kon was almost there and Roy would have the shot. 

“He has to get out of there the minute it –” Jason started to say as Kon drew back for another hit when Hades’ arm darted out and caught Superboy by the neck. 

Kon batted it away easily but Hades had dropped in front of him and grabbed him again, pushing his face up against Kon’s and baring his black-covered sharp teeth.   
Kon froze. 

Hades was staring into Kon’s eyes, his expression twisted into pure fury, and Superboy had gone limp in his grasp. 

Tim started forward. “Kon!”

Jason grabbed him and pulled him back, seeing on Kon the horror in Jason’s own memory of Hades staring through him, watching Kon start to shake in Hades’ grip. 

Now they were fucked. 

“Ah, shit.”

The plan had failed. They were stuck underground, and the only weapon that had a chance would bury them all alive. 

As Jason watched Superman’s clone hang in the air, he felt desperation twist into a final gambit. 

He wouldn’t let them all die down here.

Jason pushed Kori into Tim’s arms. “Get her out of here!”

Tim was staring at Kon in shock but jolted into action as Jason yelled. “What about you?”

“I’ve got this, I’ll be right behind you!”

Jason was already sprinting towards Hades, ripping a last grenade from his jacket and holding up his gun in the other.

“Roy!”

“Jay?” Came Roy’s frantic response. “What the fuck is going on down there?”

“There’s about to be a massive heat spike, you need to lock onto it!”

“Hang on –”

“No time, just do it!”

“There’s no shot!”

“This is it,” Jason yelled. “This is the fucking shot!”

Jason launched the grenade into the ceiling and watched the flames explode into the concrete.

He didn’t stop running until he was almost under Hades, shooting up at the arm that held Kon and into Hades’ face.

Hades turned on Jason with a growl, throwing Kon across the chamber.

Jason leapt back and followed Kon’s body as it flew through the air, sliding to a stop where the clone thudded into the ground. Jason started dragging the half-conscious alien backwards as far as he could get.

“Incoming!” Roy shouted.

Hades laughed, an horrific, grating sound, as Jason pulled Kon on top of him, praying he was as durable as his source DNA.

The ground shook and a huge boom echoed through the tunnels as the charge from the Hades machine hit the weakened ceiling. A lightning bolt shot through into the chamber and struck into the room.

Arcs of electricity spread out and Hades was caught in the charge as they struck into him. 

Hades howled, jerking back as the lightning disappeared, and the smell of burning filled the air. Jason felt the ground still rumbling as the walls cracked and more of the ceiling gave way.

Hades was hurt, the fucker was hurt, and the machine would work, Jason thought, whooping with triumph.

Hades turned on Jason with a scream of hatred. 

“Again! Roy!” Jason yelled from underneath Kon.

Hades stopped and turned to look up through the gap towards the ship. Looking back to Jason with a growl, smoke enveloped him again and whisked out of the chamber.

“No!” Jason shouted, watching Hades escape with best fucking chance they were probably going to get, just before lightning struck again.

Eight feet of concrete gave way above him.


	48. Chapter 47

Superboy was just conscious enough to brace himself as he felt the first hit to his back, and Jason saw the focus come back to his eyes as he realised where he was.

“What –” Kon was cut off as more concrete started to fall and he had a face like a confused dog.

“Don’t move!” Jason shouted as he tucked himself further under the clone.

“Are you using me as a human shield?” Kon said incredulously.

“Half human, half invincible alien, which is the more important element here,” Jason yelled over the avalanche.

“What happened?”

“Plan B failed, moved onto Plan C,” Jason gritted out as the ground shook.

“Is Plan C to get us all crushed to death?” Kon said with wide eyes. “Where’s Rob?”

“They’re all out, it’s just you and me mini-Supes.”

“So, Plan C was to get you and me crushed to death?”

“Technically, Plan C failed as well.”

Kon’s eyes went wide. “Where’s Hades?”

“Bravely ran away,” Jason deadpanned. “Is this really the fucking time to play twenty-one questions?”

“I just don’t understand what happened,” Kon said. “I had him, and then, then it was like –”

He trailed off, and Jason cut in. “Like the cold was shutting down your body and you were literally frozen with fear?”

“Yeah,” Kon breathed. “Yeah. I’ve never felt anything like it.”

“Apparently it’s more common that I thought.”

A huge slab cracked over Kon’s back as the room caved in fully, concrete and mud and water swirling into the spaces around Jason. 

“Ah fuck,” Jason said. “I forgot about the water.”

“I think the worst of it’s over,” Kon said. “I should be able to –”

Kon started to push back against the rubble above him, pushing huge masses of concrete away from them as they threatened to fall back down. Jason watched him work, ready to dive back under him if it went wrong.

“Jay?” Jason heard in his ear. “Jay? Can you hear me? Jay, come in!”

“Stop yelling!” Jason said. “I’ve just had a street fall on me, I’m delicate.”

Jason heard Roy laughing with relief. “You crazy son of a bitch. You survived.”

“Me and Mini-Supes are having a lovely time of it down here.”

Kon made a strangled noise. 

“Although,” Jason continued. “A little help would be appreciated.”

“Well I wouldn’t want to interrupt,” Roy said. 

“And that’s why you’re a good friend, bud, but honestly, it’s fine.”

“If you’re sure it’s not a bother.”

“No, of course not, always happy to have you here.”

“Alright then, I’m on my way.”

Kon was looking at Jason as if he had discovered a new species of brain-eating slugs, his super-hearing picking up both sides of the conversation. “What is wrong with you people?”

Jason felt the ground shifting above them as he answered. “I don’t know what you mean.”

It took a while, but between Kon underneath, and Roy, Tim and an exhausted Kori, eventually enough space was made for Jason and Kon to climb out onto the street.

Roy caught Jason’s hand as he climbed and pulled him up over the edge, pulling him into a hug. 

“I thought I’d killed you, you bastard.”

Jason held on for a moment before pulling back. “Dying just doesn’t seem to stick anymore.”

Jason pulled his helmet off as Kori hugged him as well. 

Kon had emerged from the hole after him, letting the concrete fall with a crack over where they had been trapped. 

“Can I point out again that you survived because you used me as a human shield?”

“Would it make you feel better to know that it was the backup, backup plan?”

“That’s not really the point,” Kon said with a frown. 

“How was I supposed to know you’d lose your mind too?” Jason said, turning around to look for Tim. “Had to improvise.”

Tim was standing a little way away from them. Jason smiled as he started towards him but stopped when he saw Tim’s face. His blank expression.

“What?” Jason asked. 

Tim didn’t move an inch. “You knew.”

“Replacement?”

“You knew. When Kon was caught. You knew what had happened.”

Jason faltered. He had known. He’d known the moment he’d seen Kon go limp exactly what had happened. Tim had obviously seen that, and Jason wasn’t sure where he was going with this.

“Yeah. Yeah I knew.”

Tim nodded, slowly. “It happened to you?”

Jason frowned. “What is this about?”

Tim’s eyes flashed. “I think we all ought to leave before they arrive.”

Jason didn’t have to ask who ‘they’ were, stood in the middle of Gotham, as Tim walked past him towards the ship. As he turned, Jason caught sight of the others stood silently watching them.

Kon looked nervous, Roy looked concerned and Kori sighed. 

‘I’ll be in the sun room while you deal with that,” Kori said, turning to follow Tim.

“You mind if I tag along?” Kon asked her hesitantly.

“You’re not leaving me alone with them,” Roy muttered as he jogged after them, throwing a backwards glance at Jason. “You’re on your own, bud.”

Jason watched in utter confusion as everyone boarded the ship.

What the fuck had he done? Why the fuck was Tim looking at him like that and why the actual fuck did everyone seem to think they were about to have a massive row?

Jason stomped after them. It wasn’t his fault that Hades had gotten away. It wasn’t his fault that the clone was as scared of the embodiment of death as Jason was. It wasn’t Jason’s fault that Hades worked underground and the only weapon they had that could hurt him was too big to fucking carry around in fucking tunnels.

There was no reason for Tim to be angry. 

Jason had a right to be angry. He’d just had a street dropped on him. 

When Jason got to the top of the ramp, Kori was nowhere to be seen. Roy had gone straight for the control desk to lift them out of the area.

Kon was standing awkwardly near Tim as he looked longingly down the corridor that Jason guessed Kori would have disappeared down.

Tim was stood, arms crossed and rigid, in the main room, his cowl pulled back but his face so blank it didn’t matter.

“Wanna tell me what the fuck that was, Replacement?” Jason demanded. 

“No!” Roy shouted from the control desk. “No fucking domestics while I’m still here!”

Jason ignored him and marched up to stand in front of Tim. “What the fuck is your problem?”

Tim’s eyes iced over as he stared back at Jason. “I think it’s fairly obvious. The problem is that you almost got everybody killed.”


	49. Chapter 48

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right so I blew straight past my own fucking self-imposed deadline there didn't I?
> 
> 4th November my arse.
> 
> On the bright side, I have now written a few more chapters, so they'll be up this week, and I reckon that this will probably end up around 57/58 chapters. 
> 
> Apologies for being slow on comment replies atm. Soon! 
> 
> Thank you so much to everyone sticking with this! Nearly there!

“I did what?” Jason balked. “You might want to fucking rethink that, Replacement, since I’m the one that got everybody out.”

“You used Kon as a human shield.”

“And he was fine. Because he’s a mini-fucking-superman.”

“You collapsed an entire street.”

“It’s Gotham.”

“And the worst part,” Tim continued as if he hadn’t heard a thing Jason said. “You knew that Hades could control people.”

“Hold the fuck up,” Jason countered. “I didn’t know the clone was going to lose his shit any more than you did.”

“That’s not true, though, is it? Because you experienced it before.”

“It’s not like I knew it was going to happen to anyone else,” Jason hissed. “Roy’s seen him too, and he didn’t freeze.”

“Leave me out of this!”

“You can’t keep information like that to yourself,” Tim said angrily. “We go in without it and we can’t plan properly. If I had known he had that kind of power, I never would have relied on a single person getting so close –”

“You wouldn’t have done it?” Jason cut in. “It wasn’t your fucking decision to make. Or are the Outlaws under new management?”

“We’re supposed to be working together,” Tim growled. 

“I don’t actually remember agreeing to that.”

“Fuck you, Jason.”

“Fuck your superiority complex, Replacement,” Jason snapped back, stepping into Tim’s space.

Kon took a step forward.

“What the fuck are you gonna do, Superbrat?” Jason growled.

“I’m not going to let you hurt him,” Kon said evenly. 

“Prefer to handle that yourself, do you?” Jason said. “Although you’re acing the pathetic stalker routine at the moment.”

“I never tried to kill him,” Kon hissed. 

“Oh, there are lots of things that me and my Replacement do that you’ll never –”

“Jason!” Tim barked, just as Kon shoved Jason back.

“He deserves better than you!”

“Why do you fucking holier-than-thou types always think you get to even decide –”

“Anyone who spent five minutes with you would know exactly what you deserve–”

Jason had the safety off his gun in a heartbeat and Kon stared at him in shock. 

“Jason, put the gun down,” Tim demanded.

“Try and give me one more fucking order, I swear,” Jason growled.

Roy appeared at Jason’s side. 

“Take a walk, now,” Roy barked Tim and Kon.

“Roy –” Tim started. 

“Come on, Rob,” Kon said, pulling Tim away. 

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Jason turned on Roy. “I don’t need to be fucking managed.”

“You’re right, but that’s not what this is about,” Roy said quietly, pushing into Jason’s space and forcing him to walk a few steps alongside him. “I just don’t want to get into one with the Titans or the Bats or whoever Tim is fucking representing, and I also need you to look at this shiny, reflective surface.”

Jason looked up at his reflection, angry and confused and –

Green. Again.

Jason looked at the gun in his hand and swore. 

“Fuck,” Jason said, squeezing his eyes shut, trying to clamp down on the rage, struggling to tell the difference between what was his and what was the Pit.

“I am actually pissed off,” Jason said, eyes still shut.

“I know, bud,” he heard Roy say at his side. 

“He doesn’t get to dress me down like that.”

“I know, bud.”

“He’s got fucking control issues.”

“I know, bud.”

“I didn’t fucking know the clone was going to react like that.”

“I know, bud.”

Jason huffed as he leant his forehead against cold metal for a moment, before leaning back and opening his eyes.

“I know you’re pandering,” Jason said, with a raised eyebrow. 

“I know, bud,” Roy said, suppressing a smile. He was quiet for a moment, while Jason just breathed, but threw a couple of quick glances in Jason’s direction.

Jason sighed. “What?”

“What?”

“What? As in, I know you want to say something, so what?”

Roy frowned. 

“I’m fine, now, honestly. Just say it,” Jason said, with a quick check to his reflection. No green.

Roy looked at him carefully. “When we first went up against Hades, you said something about mind control.”

Jason was silent, looking back at his reflection.

“After everything that happened, I forgot about it,” Roy said, shifting on his feet. “Because I didn’t feel it. But you said it.”

“Yeah,” Jason said to the ceiling.

“What happened?”

“I – I don’t know, I was – I was scared,” Jason said quietly. 

“Scared?”

“Terrified,” Jason admitted. “Literally petrified. I thought Ra’s might have been too, but I can’t be sure. And then I asked you and Kori and you didn’t feel it. Not like that.” Jason shook his head. “I thought, I thought it must have been me. I thought I could handle it.”

Roy was silent as he considered Jason’s words. Jason felt antsy, felt the need to leave, or hit something.

“I get why you didn’t tell us,” Roy sighed, eventually. “Can’t say I would have been going out of my way to broadcast something like that. But you gotta know, we never would have thought less of you.”

“I know,” Jason grimaced. “I know. It wasn’t about you.”

Roy smiled. “I know, bud.”

Jason huffed a laugh and knocked Roy’s shoulder. “Bastard.”

Roy slung an arm around Jason and they walked back into the main deck. “I guess this means we have to talk to the Superbrat.”

Jason groaned. “I gotta find Tim. He’s going to be impossible.”

“He’ll know you weren’t in your right mind. You did pull a gun on Superboy, after all.”

“That fucking brat deserved it.”

Roy stopped them. “Listen, Jay. I know you said you guys are working things out. And I’m glad about that, I am, because I know how bad it’s gotten before. But doesn’t today make you, I don’t know, reconsider some things?”

Jason side-eyed him. “Friends argue sometimes.”

“Don’t I know it?” Roy grinned. “Put it this way, when you break your leg – actually, not you. Bad analogy. When a normal person breaks a leg, they don’t go running around on it. They let it heal. They put a bit of weight on it. They do stretches, or whatever.”

“Metaphors are not your strong suit,” Jason said. “But I take it, in this feeble attempt, that my broken head is the broken leg and Tim is a marathon?”

“Can’t be that bad at them, clearly.”

“I speak fluent Harper. Took years to learn. It’s a language with no logical rules. Lot of grunting.”

“It’s just beyond the comprehension of mere mortals,” Roy said with mock indignation.

Jason grinned. “Are you completely sure I’m mortal?”

Roy laughed. “Maybe not. Maybe you’re a cat.”

“The Nine Lives of Jason Todd,” Jason tested out. “That’s – frankly unappealing.”

“Depends how many you’ve got left.”

“And what a fucking thought that is,” Jason said, as he turned to stand in front of Roy. “Listen, fucking terrible metaphors aside, I get what you’re saying.”

“I’m just trying to look out for you,” Roy said. “We both are.”

“I know that,” Jason reassured him. “And I will sit down and think about all of this fucking shit. I promise.”

“That’s all I ask.”

Jason nodded, and drew his friend in for another brief hug. “Right, I guess I better go find the fucking guy.”

“If I hear more yelling, I’m just going to dump all of you in Gotham and go with Kori back to the island,” Roy declared. 

“Looking out for me, huh?”

“Everyone has their limits.”


	50. Chapter 49

Jason was already regretting his promise. 

He had left Roy, still working on the Starling-City-fuckwit’s birthday present, and headed out to find Tim – to wherever the fuck the clone dragged him off.

Jason didn’t want to think about him and Tim; didn’t want to decide if it was a good idea or a bad one. That wasn’t how Jason operated. Clearly. 

One thing that Jason knew to be true was that he and Tim weren’t as awful together as people seemed to think. 

They were fine. It was just everybody else.

Jason sighed as he rounded the next corner. That was unfair. He knew that Roy and Kori were looking out for him. He knew that things had been comp– that Jason had been more prone to anger, since he had been in contact with the Bats. 

He could still feel the Pit, bubbling away under his skin. 

What if Tim was always a trigger for it? What Jason had been fooling himself, all this time? What if it had never settled, but that he had just avoided the Well of Infinite Anger that was the Bats?

Bullshit, Jason thought. It was crap. He was not a slave to the fucking Pit. He would get it under control. He wouldn’t hurt Tim again.

Jason knew he couldn’t promise that.

His thoughts were interrupted by the distant sound of shouting at the end of the corridor, and Jason followed the sound into the supply room. 

“It’s insane, Rob! You must know that! Everything that happened today happened because Jason Todd is not stable! He can’t be trusted!”

Jason instantly felt an uptick in irritation as he listened to the Superbrat badmouth him. 

“You are the smartest person I know, and I just don’t get it, I really don’t. He tried to kill you! He’s a murderer! He goes against everything you stand for!”

Jason couldn’t catch what Tim said in response, ever the model of self-control. Jason could picture that horrible blank face on Tim perfectly, and suppressed a shudder.

“You can’t know that! Rob, please, please just – I don’t know what to say to get you to listen to me! I know, I know things have been difficult, at the Tower, but, but I always, I always wanted you to come back, you know, I never stopped –”

Jason drew the line at listening to the clone stutter through some confession of love or whatever the fuck cringe-worthy shit he was listening to, and strode down the end of the corridor into the room. 

“Superbrat, you can fuck off now. The grownups need to talk.”

“If you think I’m leaving you alone with him –”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Do yourself a favour, clone boy, and don’t embarrass yourself anymore today.”

“Me? Embarrass myself? How many kinds of crazy are you?”

“For fuck’s sake, both of you,” Tim ordered. Tim had been standing near the door as Jason had walked in, stiffly watching Superboy pace around the room, but now he moved to plant himself between him and Jason.

“Kon,” Tim said softly. “I need to speak to Jason. Please.”

“If anything happens to you –” Kon started. 

“It won’t,” Tim said firmly. “I will be fine.”

Kon took a step closer to Tim and put a hand on his arm. “If you call me, I’ll be here in a second. Anywhere in the world. You know that, right?”

His voice was so painfully earnest, Jason almost pulled his gun out again. The clone just did not know when to quit. 

“I know,” Tim said. “But I will be fine.”

Superboy’s face twisted into a sad grimace, before he shoved past Jason on his way out. 

“If you hurt him, I will break you,” Kon muttered. 

“Promises, promises, Superbrat,” Jason taunted as he left. 

Jason felt a hand cover his own where it rested over his gun.

“Please don’t shoot my friends,” Tim said quietly. 

“Come on,” Jason smirked as he turned around. “One little regular bullet. He’d hardly feel it.”

Tim smiled. “It’s the principle of the thing.”

“Fine,” Jason said with a dramatic sigh, putting his hands up in mock surrender. “Only because you asked so nicely.”

Tim’s smile grew a fraction as his hand brushed against Jason’s side, but faded after a moment when he drew back a step. 

“What happened earlier,” Tim said. “I’m sorry I reacted that way. You were right.”

“Yeah, well,” Jason shifted uncomfortably. “I was a dick, too. It’s my thing, apparently.”

“And control is mine,” Tim frowned. “I did want to take over. I did get mad when I found out that my plan failed because I was missing information. I took that out on you.”

“You did,” Jason replied. “And just to be clear, I’m not apologising for getting pissed when you did that. But. I should never have said I didn’t agree to work with you, because I am really fucking glad you showed up when you did. And I shouldn’t have gotten so angry.”

Tim shook his head. “You had every right to call me out.”

“Yeah, and then I was actively trying to hurt you and the clone.” Jason uncomfortable in the face of Tim’s willingness to take the blame. “I pulled a gun on him.”

“Your eyes were green, Jay, I know it was the Pit.”

It hit Jason like a freight train. 

Tim had given him a very literal get-out-of-gaol-free card, because he didn’t understand what Jason was.

Tim forgiving Jason, trusting him, it had been so fucking confusing, but Jason had ignored it because he wanted it. Jason wanted Tim’s trust, and forgiveness, and he’d allowed himself to be fucking selfish, and pretended it was fine.

They could laugh, and fight bad guys, and fuck each other’s brains out. Jason could wake up to blue eyes and bed hair, and… probably not breakfast, going by the abysmal state of Tim’s kitchen.

A few fucking days had been enough to make Jason blind. 

He was an idiot. 

“Replacement,” Jason began. “The Pit doesn’t change the way I think. It doesn’t take over and make me a different person. I get fucking angry, me, about a lot of shit. And then the Pit just makes things more intense.”

Tim gave him a look. “I know you have a lot of anger, I’m not naïve, but you are different under the Pit-rage.”

“I’m more violent, sure. But it’s not mind-control. It doesn’t make me do things I don’t want to do. It’s all already there.” Jason tried again.

Tim took a step towards him. “I don’t think you understand how important that is. The fact that you choose not to act on your anger. You have morals, a code of conduct, whatever you want to call it. You’re not just a killer.”

“But I am a killer. My morals, if that’s what they are, allow for a very flexible stance on murder. And my anger does affect what I do. With or without the Pit.”

“The Pit makes a difference. I’ve seen it.”

Jason sighed. “You’re not seeing the big picture, Replacement. Doesn’t matter about the Pit, doesn’t even matter about the anger, really. How many times have I hurt you in the last week alone?”

“It wasn’t all your fault.”

“It was. It was absolutely my fault. And every time you forgive me for it, you put yourself in a position for me to do it again.”

Tim grabbed his hand. “You won’t –”

“I will!” Jason shook him off and paced across the room. “Of course I will! I keep losing control! It’s not going to stop as long as –”

Jason clenched his jaw shut. He didn’t want to say it. 

“As long as you’re around me?” Tim said. “Is that what you were going to say? 

“No, I don’t hate you,” Jason shot back without hesitation. 

“But I make you angry. Because I’m a Bat.”

“The Bats make me angry. What they’ve done to you makes me angry. But that’s not the point.”

“When was the last time? Before Titan Tower? When was the last time the Pit came out?”

“The Pit is not the issue –”

“Just tell me!”

“Months, alright?” Jason snapped. “Months. That’s why I convinced myself I could control it. But apparently, I’m just too fucking violent. Too fucking angry to be in Gotham.”

There was a look of horror creeping over Tim’s face as Jason watched him.

This was it, Jason thought. This was the moment Tim realised that Jason didn’t deserve to be forgiven. 

“Jason,” Tim breathed. “It’s not your fault. It’s mine.”


	51. Chapter 50

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I am returned. And this bloody thing is getting finished. 
> 
> I'm sorry to all of you that were following this story regularly back in the autumn. 
> 
> Windows fucked me with the feature update, massive BSOD. And being one of these poor unfortunate sorts, I avoided paying to get it fixed until I was forced to work at home with this quarantine thing. 
> 
> I have the next ten chapters done, with probably two more still to write and everything to edit.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy! See you all again tomorrow.

“What the fuck?” Jason blurted out. “How the hell do you figure that?”

“You had the Pit under control until you came to find me, Jay, listen to me,” Tim argued. “Even Dick said it, and I’ll bet Roy and Kori have too.”

“You are missing the point completely,” Jason said loudly. “The Pit. Is not. The issue.”

“You wouldn’t choose to act on your anger without it, you’ve proved that already.”

“That’s clearly bullshit!”

“If you had never come to find me, you would have never lost control.”

“The Pit is always there, babybird,” Jason yelled. “The problem is me.”

“You wouldn’t choose to hurt me.”

Jason let out a shout of frustration as he paced around. “How many fucking black eyes is it going to take to get you to understand?”

A rush of wind and Superboy had Jason against the wall, by the throat.

“Threaten him again and I will make you suffer.”

“Kon!” Tim shouted.

The hand on Jason’s neck was ripped away as a familiar orange and purple blur threw the clone across the room.

“No one lays hands on anyone on this ship!” Kori ordered, with all the authority of her royal status.

Kon looked sheepish as he climbed to his feet. “I thought Rob was in danger.”

“I told you I’d be fine,” Tim said angrily.

Roy appeared at the door a moment later, waving a box. “I have the med kit!”

Jason pushed himself away from the wall, his neck throbbing as he choked on his own breaths. Kori stood between him and the clone. Roy was watching everyone warily.

Jason ignored them all and focused on Tim. “Don’t you see it? Because they all do. They all know I’ll hurt you.”

Tim’s eyes grew sad. “No, Jay,” he said softly. “They know I’m the worst thing for you. They know you’re better off without me.”

Jason shook his head at the floor, but when he looked back up Tim was already leaving, the clone following on his heels.

“Tim!” Jason shouted.

Tim ignored him, walking silently out of sight.

Jason made to follow him again, but Roy blocked his way.

“Maybe it’s for the best, mate.”

“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Jason said as he tried to shoulder past Roy.

Roy grabbed his arm and pulled him back. “But you do.”

“Of course I fucking do –”

“That’s not what I meant,” Roy said, his grip tightening.

“Jason,” Kori came up to put her hand on his other side. “Even if it is in this way, is it the worst thing for him to choose to leave?”

Jason looked at Roy, and then Kori, seeing the concern there, and maybe even a hint of pity.

They were right. Jason had tried to convince Tim that he had to stay away from Jason for his own safety. The outcome was the same.

“Fucking, fuck!” Jason yelled, his fist connecting with the wall.

He felt Kori’s arms wrap around him, pinning his arms down so he couldn’t lash out again.

“It’ll be alright, Jay,” she whispered.

Roy wrapped his arms around the both of them where they stood, leaning his head against Jason’s.

“You’ve still got us, bud.”

“I know,” Jason breathed, as the anger and frustration swirled through him helplessly. A tiny part of him screamed how unfair it all was, even as the rest of him knew that this was inevitable.

Jason should be used to disappointment by now.

The three of them stood in silence for a little while longer, before Roy spoke muffled words into Jason’s shoulder.

“Is it difficult, being around the clone? What with your crush on his dad and all?”

Jason jabbed his fingers into Roy’s ribs, with the limited movement he had trapped between him and Kori.

“Why are you the way you are?” Jason mumbled back.

Kori hummed. “Roy raises an interesting question.”

“Just because I can’t hurt you, doesn’t mean I won’t try,” Jason said.

Kori laughed and let him go. “You’re cute when you’re threatening.”

Jason couldn’t help but huff out a laugh, even though his insides still felt like they’d been turned over.

It was what he wanted, for Tim to be safe and away from him, but knowing that Tim thought it was all his fault - it wasn't right.

“There is pretty much nothing of Supes in the kid, I swear,” Roy proclaimed. “Unless Clark had a fairly pathetic teen rebel stage.”

“Definitely overreacted at the end there,” Jason added, rubbing his neck where he’d been pinned to the wall.

“Are you badly injured?” Kori asked.

“Just bruised.”

Roy batted his hand out the way and inspected it for himself.

“Come on,” Roy said. “You need ice. If that swells you won’t be able to breathe.”

“It’s not that bad,” Jason protested, even as he felt the strain in his muscles.

“You’ll regret it later, come on.” Roy nudged Jason’s shoulder towards the door.

“They’ve left the ship,” Kori said, looking at the little blinking light on the room’s control panel.

“Thank fuck for small mercies,” Roy breathed.

“They’ll be back,” Jason said. “Replacement won’t give up the case, whatever else happens.”

Roy frowned. “He might work it just with the clone.”

“Unlikely. We’ve got the weapon that works and he won’t call in the Tightarses unless he’s desperate.”

Roy sighed and Kori rolled her eyes.

“How long do we have?” Kori asked.

Jason thought about it for a second. If Tim had made the decision to stay away from Jason as much as possible, then he’d leave it until the last possible moment.

“I’d say literally until the moment he’s about to walk into Hades’ evil lair.”

Jason watched Roy process it, watched his best friend clamp down on the impulse to say something, probably about how that was exactly how Jason would deal with the situation.

Kori had no such compunctions.

“Robins,” she declared, exasperated.

Simple, to the point, Jason thought. If a little unfair. Now he was being compared to Dickhead and the brat. And probably Spoiler.

Roy groaned. “Come on then, let’s get the ice. Then we’ll see about finding Hades first, no Titans required.”

“We know what we’re looking for now,” Jason said as he and Kori followed Roy out of the room.

“It’s only a matter of time,” Kori agreed. “I’m going up for a bit, to recharge.”

“I’ll patch this lovesick fool up and put him to work in the kitchen while I go play with the sensors,” Roy said to Kori as they parted ways.

Jason scoffed. “Keep talking like that and I’ll leave you to fend for yourselves.”

Roy pouted at him. “It’s like you want us to live off junk food.”

Kori leaned over and rubbed a hand soothingly down Jason’s arm. “You know how much we appreciate you – and I want something with lots of cheese.”

She danced away with a laugh before Jason could respond and Roy tugged him down the hallway.

“How are you even talking right now, you look like you were hanged.”

Jason rubbed at his neck again, his throat muscles protesting. “Who else is going to tell you you’re a bastard?”

“My phone, whenever you ring, as you already know.”

Jason grinned. He’d have to do the same to Tim – but no. He wouldn’t, now.

Jason was going to leave Tim alone, because he knew that his Replacement deserved better. Better than Jason, better than the Titans, better than the damn Bats.

It still didn’t sit right.


	52. Chapter 51

Sometimes Jason enjoyed cooking. Other times…

Other times his body went on autopilot and his head had too much time to think.

He couldn’t let go of the idea that Tim was blaming himself for Jason’s lack of control.

Tim was going to let Jason off the hook every time he lost it. Tim was always going to let Jason hurt him, because he saw it as the Pit.

Jason had been grateful for that at first, for Tim to see the difference. To understand that Jason was more than his anger.

But he hadn’t been prepared for how different it would be. Roy and Kori either had the strength to take him down, or get out of his way.

Tim had planted himself in front of Jason and tried to fucking talk him down, taking every hit whether it was meant for him or not.

Roy and Kori were right. The reason didn’t matter if the end result was the same.

But Tim blamed himself. Fucking frustrating moron that he was, had decided that he was solely responsible for Jason’s rage and taken himself away to fuck knows where.

Back to the Titans, back to Bats? Or just alone, again. Without anybody. Like Jason had told him he wasn’t.

If only Jason could fucking get a hold of himself, none of this would be an issue.

He pulled the last two dishes out of the oven and brought them out to the large table next to the kitchen to put them with others Jason had already laid out.

Roy, having abandoned his work the second he heard Jason dishing up, was already sitting in a chair scooping vegetable gratin onto his plate.

Jason leant into the comms panel and flicked the switch. “Kori, Roy’s already started and if you don’t get down here there’s going to be scraps left.”

Roy grinned even as he burnt his tongue on hot cheese. “You have magic hands, Jaybird.”

“You’re an actual genius. Don’t pretend you couldn’t put shit in an oven.”

“Nope,” Roy said. “I could never do it. I would starve without you.”

“Lazy bastard,” Jason muttered as he sat down and started plating up for himself.

After a moment, Roy pointed his fork at Jason. “You’ve got your moping face on.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Your face, which I am arguably more familiar with than you, is doing the moping thing,” Roy repeated.

“You are more familiar with my own face than I am?” Jason deadpanned.

“I’m the one who has to look at it all the time,” Roy retorted.

“I’m the Red Hood. Not the Red Casual Beanie. You can’t fucking see my face half the time.”

“And yet,” Roy said. “I am an expert. And you are moping.”

Jason flicked sauce at Roy as Kori joined them.

“Can I eat, please, before the food fight?”

Roy gasped and pointed at Jason. “He started it.”

“I’ll fucking finish it,” Jason said.

Jason tried not to think about Tim, trading friendly insults with his friends and laughing along with them as they ate. But his hand kept drifting to the phone in his pocket, its continued silence weighing on Jason more and more.

What the fuck could Jason do?

Roy’s fork clattered onto his empty plate as he leant back in his chair and clutched his stomach. “I’m dying. This is it. Record my final words and remember me as I was. Fucking amazing.”

“Take the dishes out,” Jason said.

“I’m in pain, Jay, and you did this to me! Have mercy!” Roy exclaimed.

“Fresh out of mercy,” Jason said. “Can I interest you in some bone-deep exhaustion?”

“That’ll do,” Roy acquiesced. “Kori, what are your thoughts? Outlaw slumber party?”

“Always,” Kori replied.

Between the two of them, Kori and Roy cajoled Jason onto the sun deck with them, all spread out on the recliner.

It was a familiar comfort for them, what with the frequency of nightmares, crises, and general need for support, and Jason knew that this was for his benefit.

As much as he chaffed at the vulnerability, Jason knew how much it helped him to have them there, how much calmer his sleep was next to them.

He’d slept well next to Tim.

Jason’s phone was still silent, and as the breathing of the other two Outlaws evened out, Jason began composing various messages in his head.

What sort of fucking text did you send to a moron who blamed himself for getting attacked? ‘Hi Replacement, all your reasons for staying away from me are wrong, but stay away anyway because my entire existence is violent?’

Jason knew that reaching out like that was pointless

Just keep your mouth shut and let everyone get on with their lives, he thought.

As time dragged on, and Roy and Kori tangled up with him in their sleep, Jason let himself drift off, holding tight onto his phone.

When he jerked awake to a shrill sound, some time later, Jason scrambled to get the phone up where he could see the screen, but there was no call registering.

“What?” Jason mumbled, confused, as he felt Roy kick him in the shin.

“Dickiebird,” Roy said loudly.

Jason’s head jerked up to see Roy looking at him pointedly, his own phone against his ear.

“What the fuck can I do for you?”

Jason propped himself up on his side, frowning at Roy. Why the fuck was Dickhead calling Roy? Hadn’t they suffered enough already?

“Ah, you know I can neither confirm nor deny… All good, you know, just struggling to find a decent burger in this town… No, you can keep saying that but it’s horseshit and everyone knows… Yeah, yeah, I don’t give a toss. I know you didn’t call me to talk about food so you can just stop defending that fucking awful place…”

While Roy was talking, Kori had woken up and disappeared into the bathroom, and Jason rolled away to push himself off the bed, stretching his arms up over his head as he went. Jason’s ribs were still giving him trouble, but it wasn’t like he hadn’t put up with worse.

“I see,” Roy was still talking behind him. “Well I appreciate the heads-up… Nothing we can’t handle… Yeah, but let’s be fair, there are potholes in this city bigger than that…”

An alert lit up the room’s control panel and starting beeping.

Jason was across the room in two strides, his pulse jumping as he saw another hit on the scanners.

“Roy,” he said sharply.

Roy looked up at him, phone still pressed to his ear.

“I gotta go Dickie, catch ya later.”

As Roy pulls the phone away to hang up, Jason just catches the golden boy’s voice on the line. “No, Roy, wait –”

“Hades?” Roy asked, climbing off the bed as Kori came back into the room.

“Let’s fucking hope so,” Jason replied. “The sooner we deal with him, the sooner we can get out of here.”


	53. Chapter 52

It wasn’t Hades.

Jason and Kori drew the giant out from the sewer system towards the surface, where Roy was waiting with the machine.

“How’s it going down there?” Roy asked over the comms.

Jason ducked behind a wall and changed out his clip while Kori pummelled the thing back another few steps.

“Fucking slowly!” Jason yelled back.

Jason was doing everything he could to avoid getting too close. He couldn’t afford to freeze, not when this damned hellgiant could do so much fucking damage. They had been lucky enough that the last two hadn’t had a chance to run loose in the city.

The giant caught Kori with a blow that sent her flying backwards and Jason took his cue to leap back out into its path.

“Take the fucking hint!” Jason yelled as the bullets sent the giant stumbling sideways.

An electric charge flew past Jason and hit the giant square in the chest, the surge causing it to stumble again and Jason whipped around to see a black and blue figure practically fly into the tunnel.

“You talking to me, Little Wing?”

Jason rolled his eyes as Nightwing somersaulted over to flank him. “I wasn’t, but the sentiment applies.”

“We’re only here to help.”

“We?” Jason asked, hope and fear wrangling with his insides.

Dick gestured behind him and Jason clamped down on a cold wave of disappointment as the current Robin dropped into the tunnel.

“I still don’t know why you are allowing them to operate here,” the tiny psycho huffed as he glared at Jason.

“Robin,” Dick admonished. “We agreed this was the best strategy.”

The brat just glared more before launching himself into the fight like the fucking crazed gremlin he was.

“Oi!” Jason yelled as Dick made to follow him. “If you’re fucking bothered, we actually do have a plan.”

Dick faltered a step and his jaw worked as though he didn’t know what to say.

Jason growled as Dick’s self-absorbed guilt just cut straight through any good mood he had left.

“Just draw them out to the fucking surface,” Jason yelled before he turned his focus back to the giant.

Between the four of them, Jason was loathed to admit that they had a slightly easier time dragging the giant up to the street. At the sewage outlet, Kori and Dick were the first to dive out, with the creature focusing on Kori as the biggest threat.

Jason and Damian were behind, stopping the giant form retreating, but as they got closer to the surface, they needed to put distance between themselves and the giant for Roy’s shot.

“Robin, get clear!” Jason shouted as he lobbed another charge over the giant’s head.

The force knocked it forward a few steps and down to one knee, which was the opening Damian took to launch himself over it and make a break for the exit.

An huge hand thrust out and clipped the tiny Demon and Damian went crashing into the wall. The giant clawed forward and hooked onto to the yellow and black cape, dragging Damian back under it.

Jason sprinted forward as the giant loomed over Damian, the small, angry figure struggling against its grip, diving straight at its head and shoving it sideways enough for Robin to break free and dash for the exit.

The giant reared up and Jason was flung backwards, the loud smack of his helmet hitting the ground reverberating through his body.

The giant turned on him and snarled, and Jason was rolling onto his feet even as the world spun around him, but as he drew his guns up to fire, Jason watched a wire fly over the creature’s shoulder and wrap around his neck.

It was wrenched away from Jason and hit the floor, and Jason could two figures against the light at the exit.

As Jason’s lenses adjusted, Red Robin and Superboy came into focus.

Kon heaved on the wire and started to haul the giant towards the entrance, but it recovered quickly, planting itself and straining back against him.

Kori flew to land beside him and took up the slack. Between the two of them, the giant was dragged forward inch by inch.

Jason threw another a charge at its back as he stumbled forward.

“Rob!” Jason heard the mini-Supes yell as Tim appeared at Jason’s side.

“You’re injured,” Tim said, arms out and ready to brace against him if Jason stumbled again.

“Just a flesh wound,” Jason gritted out, shaking himself back into focus.

Tim looked around to where Kori and Kon had the giant half out of the tunnel.

“I can see him!” Roy yelled in his ear. “Get clear!”

Jason grabbed Tim’s armed and started running back down the tunnel. “Tell Superbrat to get clear!”

Tim shouted into his own comms but Jason didn’t look back to check, instead barrelling straight for the first side tunnel thirty yards away.

Jason shoved Tim ahead of him around the corner as the blast boomed through the earth, shaking the ground and showering them with dust.

When all they could hear again was the sound of their own breathing, Jason turned to give Tim a once-over, his hand reaching out unconsciously before he wrenched it back.

“You alright?”

Tim nodded, leaning towards him slightly. “What about you?”

“Just the usual,” Jason said, tugging his helmet off and inspecting the damage. “I’m fine.”

Tim frowned at the cracks in the metal. “You’ve only just got over a concussion.”

“Good thing I’ve got such a hard head,” Jason said, climbing to his feet.

“Jason, please,” Tim said following him, his hand brushing against Jason’s arm.

Jason turned to look at him for a second, but his mind refused to supply anything helpful and his gaze dropped to Tim’s mouth instead.

“You shouldn’t be worrying about me,” Jason said quietly, turning away again.

“Jason, please,” Tim said again, more concern slipping into his tone.

Jason was already moving back up the tunnel. “Roy? Kori? Did it work?”

“That’s affirmative!” Roy chirped in his ear. “Vaporised. Eviscerated. Obliterated. It was poetry in motion.”

Jason was jogging up to the exit now with Tim keeping pace until the Superbrat whizzed in and started fussing.

“Rob! Are you hurt? Do you need help? Were you alright in here?”

Jason didn’t stop to hear the answers, an irritated flash rising up in him as Kon stepped a little too close to Tim for his liking.

Outside, Kori was standing to one side watching Dick handle one angry little demon.

“Get off me!” Damian barked as he twisted out of Dick’s grip. “I am more than capable of assessing my own injuries!”

“Will you just let me look?” Dick pleaded, following after.

“No, I don’t need your help – you! There you are, you incompetent fool!” Damian caught sight of Jason stepping outside. “What sort of moronic decision was that? The whole point was to lure the thing outside! Not draw its attention backwards!”

Jason pressed the catch on his helmet and pulled it over his head. “You’re fucking welcome, ungrateful brat.”

Damian puffed out like an angry bird. “You – Grayson, get off me! I will not tell you again! – I was fine without your imbecilic idea of help – Grayson, I swear –”

“You’re limping, you’re not alright –” Dick started.

Fury clouded Damian’s features as he brought his katana swiftly down to act as a barrier between him and Dick.

“Stop interfering!” he yelled and Dick jerked back to avoid the blade.

“Robin!” Dick commanded, his Bat voice ringing out. “Stand down.”

“Keep your hands off me!”

Tim came to a stop next to Jason, with Kon slightly behind as they took in the scene.

“Robin,” Tim called. “What do you think you’re doing? Put your weapon away!”

Jason just rolled his eyes at the dramatics, and then immediately regretted it when he felt his head throb, and walked over to Kori.

“I think we’re done here,” Jason muttered.

Kori nodded.

Jason looked back across to the others. Damian had lowered his sword but was still spitting like an irate kitten, as Dick hovered around him trying to be both in charge and soothing.

Tim was watching Damian with a strange expression.

Jason didn’t want to leave. Didn’t want to walk away not knowing the next time he’d see Tim. Didn’t want to feel this heaviness in his lungs when he thought about the sadness in Tim’s eyes. Didn’t want feel like he was breaking some unspoken promise by leaving Tim alone.

He felt Kori’s hand on his shoulder just as Tim turned to catch Jason staring.

It was selfish, Jason repeated to himself. It was selfish to want to stay.

“We’re leaving,” Jason called out to them.

Tim’s face settled into a blankness that made Jason’s stomach turn, but didn’t respond.

“Wait,” Dick called. “We should debrief –”

“We sure as hell should not,” Jason said, and waved a hand at the tiny psycho. “Have fun with all that.”

Jason felt Kori wrap an arm around him, and as he was lifted into the air, Jason’s eyes flicked back to Tim’s.

He stared until he couldn’t see anymore.


	54. Chapter 53

Jason lay on his bed, unmoving.

Once Kori had brought him back to the ship, Roy had flown them to the outskirts of Jason’s territory and away from prying eyes.

Now all they had to do was wait.

They had demonstrated that they had a fairly accurate Hades alert, so it was only a matter of time, and they had a weapon that could take him down.

As far as gigs went, the Outlaws had been in much worse positions than this.

And so, inevitably, the conversation had turned to what happened next; or rather, where they would go when they left.

Because they were leaving. Jason knew that. Had known it, since he dropped into Gotham a couple of weeks prior to check up on his territory, his businesses, his reputation…

A couple of weeks.

Roy had gone to Starling, Kori had gotten the island to herself for a while, and the three of them had gotten the time they needed to – not recharge, exactly, Jason would never describe coming to Gotham as relaxing in any way – but just to take stock. To zero the scales.

And now, Jason had control of Crime Alley. There were people here that depended on him. That trusted that the Red Hood would not let it go back to the way it used to be.

There was still crime, of course, it was still Gotham and it was hardly an up-and-coming neighbourhood, but at least there was less of a chance of being an innocent bystander in someone else’s fight. Beyond that, people were free to make their own bad choices.

But Jason couldn’t stay here. This city might be his home, had its hooks in him too deep to ever come out, but he could never live here again. There was too much sewage under the bridge.

So that was it. Jason needed to get ready to leave.

He hadn’t moved for an hour.

It was goddamn pathetic.

Heaving himself upright with a groan, Jason mentally listed everything he’d need to do before he left.

Eight safehouses to be cleared, informants to be paid, a few of his protected businesses set up with money and supplies. Everything was in place. In this, at least, Jason was confident.

He caught sight of his reflection as he paced across the room, purple on top of yellow where he’d not had the chance to heal fully before the next fight. Scarring visible across his neck and over his right ear, disappearing under his hair. And the shock of white, across his forehead.

Jason had never been sure if it was the crowbar, or the explosion, that had given him that.

Jason’s violence was written on his skin. Even if his eyes never clouded green again, he knew what he was.

Tim was better off without him. And Jason had to leave Gotham.

Resignation settled over him, and he headed off the ship.

Hours later, Jason was chucking perishables into a bag in the fifth safehouse he’d cleared. He’d drop the food off at a couple of different places that Jason knew would keep it quiet. People would figure out the Red Hood was out of town eventually, but he’d picked up a few ways of delaying it.

He was peering at the use-by date on a pack of yoghurts Jason had bought on a whim when his phone went off.

Tim.

Jason held it in his hand as his mind went to war; part of him screaming to answer it while the rest tried to throw it across the room.

Instead, Jason stood frozen as it rang out, the silence more deafening than the tone.

When the screen lit up again with Tim’s name, Jason set the phone on the table and sat heavily into the chair.

He had no right to feel like this, Jason thought. It had been days. Just days.

Jason rejected the call and turned off the ringer, turning his back on it and continuing to empty the fridge.

The date on the yoghurts looked like a ten, but Jason couldn’t tell if it was the month or the day –

A loud buzzing interrupted Jason’s thoughts, as his phone vibrated its way across the wooden table and strawberry-flavoured dairy burst over his arm. Jason looked down at where his fist had clamped down on the flimsy plastic and swore loudly.

“Fuck. Fuck!”

Jason dropped the pots into the rubbish bag with a noise of disgust, moving to the sink and running his arm under the tap as grating sound of metal on wood started up again.

With a growl, Jason grabbed the buzzing metal annoyance and killed the vibrate function, smacking it back down and stomping back to the fridge.

Shoving the remains into the bag, Jason pulled everything he had collected from the small studio flat together and pushed it all onto the fire escape.

He forced his focus onto activating the security system before he climbed down to the car he’d parked in the alley behind the building.

Flopping into the driver’s seat, the back of the car piled with the supplies of various safehouses across his territory, Jason pulled the phone out of his pocket and stared at the list of missed calls and messages.

He opened the first message from Tim.

‘Answer the phone.’

The next message was from Roy.

‘Heads up. Your Bat is looking for you.’

The screen lit up again with Tim’s contact. Jason sighed and tossed the phone onto the passenger seat.

He had known that Tim wouldn’t give up the case. Tim’s control issues ran through him like his own blood. But Jason cringed at the thought of Tim treating him with the same careful distance that he used on the Titans.

Would his face morph into that horrific blanket of calm? Jason wondered as he dropped the food off at a community bank with a decent payment for his contact’s silence.

Would Tim feel safe enough with Jason to let his real self show? Jason’s mind quietly asked as he drove the few miles to the next place.

They both had their defences, everyone did. But where Jason had a minefield, Tim had thick stone walls so high you couldn’t see the top of them. No grapple would get you over. No explosive would crash you through.

His Replacement made his own decisions about what to feel and when, in a way that Jason had never managed.

Tim would move on. He’d be back leading the Titans in three months.

It would be like nothing had ever happened.

Jason pulled off the road with a jerk, slamming the brakes down and yanking the handbrake up, breathing hard, a familiar anger rising up from under his lungs.

Flashes of a uniform in a glass case raced through his mind.

Like nothing had happened. Like it hadn’t meant anything. Like he had never meant anything.

Jason’s fist connected with the dash so hard the radio blared into life, jolting him back to himself as he sat half-parked in an alley.

Jason’s laugh was bitter. What a fucking joke he was.

He needed to get the fuck out of Gotham.

As Jason put his hand back on the gearstick, ready to drive straight to the city limits, the metal roof of the car clanged with the unmistakeable weight of a body.

His hand was on his gun before Jason could process that the face that he’d been imagining all day was glaring at him through the windscreen.

Well, Jason hadn’t imagined that expression.


	55. Chapter 54

Tim wrenched the passenger door open and grabbed Jason’s phone as he slipped into the car.

“You couldn’t answer your phone? One time?” Tim demanded, waving the offending item in Jason’s face. “Put the gun down, you idiot.”

“Get the fuck out of my car, Replacement.”

“It’s not yours,” Tim snapped.

“Not the point,” Jason growled back.

“I don’t care,” Tim said, twisting around to frown at the bags on the back seat.

“Hey!” Jason waved his hand in front of Tim. “Eyes up front.”

Tim gaze locked on Jason’s, seemingly trying to burn a hole in Jason’s head, as his Replacement sat back into the seat with careful movements.

“I’m in the middle of shit,” Jason said, feeling pathetic even as the words came out of his mouth.

“I noticed,” Tim said, quietly furious. “I noticed your empty fucking safehouse because that’s where I went when you wouldn’t answer your fucking phone. I noticed your two fucking Outlaws refusing to tell me where you were, saying that you were all getting the fuck out of Gotham. I fucking noticed.”

“Nothing gets past the World’s Second Greatest Detective,” Jason grimaced.

“No,” Tim agreed. “Not much does. Which is how I managed to figure out your damn problem.”

Jason barked a hollow laugh. “Oh, Replacement, people have been working on that for years.”

Tim’s face cracked into the slightest grin. “Well, you should have called me in earlier then.”

Jason could almost give in to it. To how easy it could be between them.

“Oh yeah, is that before or after I left you for dead at Titan Tower?” Jason watched the small hint of a smile disappear back behind Tim’s blank mask. “How about when I first came back to Gotham? Or how about the last time?”

“Jason, stop.”

“I should give you a card or something. Five punches to vital organs and you get a free doughnut.”

“Jason,” Tim said, sharply.

“What? People love free stuff. I owe you a couple dozen by now, I reckon.”

“For fuck’s sake, stop it!”

Jason flung the car door open and climbed out, slamming it closed behind him.

Fucking Replacement. Fucking Pit. Fucking City.

He heard the slam of a car door behind him as Jason paced the length of the car.

“Fuck! Is it really that fucking important that you’re still on the fucking case? There’s nothing even to do –”

Tim stepped in front of him.

“I’m sorry.”

Jason’s heart stalled like he had dropped into ice water.

“What the fuck?”

“I am sorry, Jason,” Tim continued. “Please, just listen –”

“Why the fuck are you apologising to me?”

“Because I shouldn’t have left like that, and I know I hurt you and –”

“You hurt me?” Jason interrupted, smacking his hand on the car bonnet. “You’re fucking sorry because you hurt me? Are you serious?”

“Please just let me explain –”

“I hit you. I stabbed you. I almost shot you,” Jason reeled. “And you’re sorry for hurting me?”

Tim pushed into Jason’s space with his hands up in front of him, inches away from holding him in place. “I need you to listen to me, come on, you’re not going to hurt me so just stop, please!”

“How can you stand there and say I won’t hurt you –”

“Then hit me!” Tim snapped. “Hit me, fucking hit me!”

“For fuck’s sake,” Jason snarled as he shoved Tim away from him. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Tim caught himself easily and drew back up, body tense. “I am proving a point.”

“What the fuck is that, then? How much of a death wish you have?”

“You’re not going to hurt me.”

Jason could have screamed for all the frustration in him. “What is it going to fucking take to make you understand?”

“No, I know it’s been difficult for you but there’s a chance –”

“Difficult for me?” Jason’s fist came down on the metal of the car again as every word Tim said sent a jolt through him.

Jason had worked so hard, so goddamn hard, to get control of himself. But when it came down to it, there had been rage in him from the beginning. Whatever Jason did with his life, it would always come back to that. Gotham’s violence had been born into him.

Tim was one of the smartest people in the world, and the fact that he was stood there trying to put himself in harm’s way because Jason just didn’t mean to hurt anyone – it was messed up, it was fucking insane.

“Jason,” Tim’s voice asked.

Jason’s eyes blinked open from where he’d screwed them shut, the blurry shape of his Replacement coming into focus in front of him.

Tim had gone very still. “Jason, you can’t let the Pit take control.”

“Fuck you, what do you know about it,” Jason snapped. He could feel the acid heat spreading through him and Jason braced himself against the car as he forced it back.

Tim kept silent as he stepped forward a couple of paces to bring him within arm’s length.

“Why the fuck are you here?” Jason eventually sighed, when he felt the rage recede enough. “What is the point of flogging a dead goddamn horse?”

“Because it’s not dead anymore,” Tim said flatly. “And that’s the key.”

“Yes, that’s been fucking obvious for a while,” Jason retorted. “Fantastic deduction, detective.”

“Damian tried to stab Dick.” Tim said this with the tone that implied obvious significance, as if Jason had any clue what he was on about.

“What?”

“Damian tried to stab Dick, to avoid being examined for injuries. He also,” Tim continued on without letting Jason interrupt. “After extensive questioning, admitted that he had felt fear, when fighting the hellgiants. The same fear as Kon, and you.”

“Right. So you’re saying what, exactly?” Jason said. “That they can inspire fear? That’s old news as well. Or are you here to have a go at me for that again?”

“The only people who have felt fear, so far, have been, in one way or another, resurrected.”

Jason paused as he considered that, turning to sit back against the car. Jason, Roy and Kori had already discussed the possibility that Hades’ interest in Jason and Ra’s al Ghul would most likely have something to do with their exposure to the Pit.

It wouldn’t be too much a leap to assume if their resurrections affected Hades, then Hades could affect them.

“Unnatural life,” Jason murmured to himself.

“There’s another link,” Tim said.

Jason looked up and waited for him to continue.

“Anyone who has had prior exposure to a Lazarus Pit, has demonstrated unusual levels of anger.”

The words didn’t sink in for a moment. For a single moment Jason stared at Tim waiting for the penny to drop. And when it did, Jason felt it hit like lead.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”


	56. Chapter 55

Jason had worked hard, so fucking hard, to turn what had crawled out of the ground into a passably functional human being. Even after the Pit had given him a headstart, it had taken Jason months to fully reclaim himself.

The idea that something could undo that just by fucking looking at him – Jason’s hand came down hard on the metal of the car bonnet.

“I don’t know how many more hits that can take,” Tim said.

Jason huffed as he pushed himself away from the car. “Like I give a shit. It’s not my car.”

There was a hint of a smile on Tim’s face when he stepped forward again. “You know what this means?”

“That, once again, my mind is not my fucking own?”

Tim’s face went blank as he froze. “Jason – I didn’t think.”

“Of course not,” Jason said bitterly. “In this fucking city? Mind control is just another damn Tuesday. Pick your fucking trauma. Then walk it off.”

Jason couldn’t tell if he was furious or exhausted as he stalked back round to the driver’s seat and yanked the car door open, dropping inside with a heavy thud and slamming the door shut again.

He just needed a minute. Just a damn minute, Jason thought as he let his head drop to the wheel.

It was just another shitty thing to add to the list. He’d overcome triggers before. What was one more? The clown’s gas, Ivy’s poison, Talia’s drugs, green rage acid. And now a hell God. Just another fucking day in Gotham. Another day in the fucked-up existence of Jason Todd.

Jason glanced up from the steering wheel and stared out the windscreen, taking a couple of deep breaths.

Tim was still stood in the alley, now staring at the floor. Jason couldn’t figure out when he’d kicked a puppy but Tim’s face was –

Jason forced open the door again and climbed out. “What does it mean?”

Tim’s attention snapped back to Jason. “What?”

“You asked me if I knew what it meant,” Jason said. “What does it mean?”

The tension in Tim’s body made Jason’s own muscles ache.

“It’s nothing, never mind,” Tim said quietly.

Jason crossed the short space between them until Tim rocked like he was about to step back. He wasn’t letting Tim get away with that.

“You chased me across Gotham to tell me about this and now it’s nothing? Going to have to try harder than that, Replacement.”

Tim tipped his head up and Jason watched emotion scatter across a sea of stormy blue as Tim retreated further into himself.

“Trust me,” he lied. “It isn’t important now.”

Jason’s hands itched to reach out and grab the infuriating little bastard. “I think I can decide that for myself, babybird.”

A second of silence passed, and then Tim exhaled.

“It means it might not be me.”

Jason had a feeling he knew what Tim was talking about, but he pushed anyway. “Not you?”

“If it really is Hades that’s upping the intensity of Pit rage, then it might not be because of me.” Tim’s voice was so quiet Jason felt himself leaning in further. “And that means we don’t have to give this up.”

Jason felt the space under his lungs contract. The urge to just tip forward and press his lips to Tim’s was instantly overwhelming, and his hand came up to rest on Tim’s neck.

“Babybird,” Jason murmured. “Tim –”

Tim moved before he could react, pushing up to meet Jason with a barely restrained force, his lips hot against Jason’s as his hands circled around Jason’s waist to grip his jacket.

Jason’s other hand came up to thread through Tim’s hair, and pressed forward to feel the length of Tim’s body against his.

It was too easy to give in and just chase the sensation of Tim’s lips and tongue and hands, to pretend. It could have been seconds or hours that Jason let the heat flood him and burn him from the inside out but eventually he had to breathe and pulled back with a shaky gasp.

“Tim, wait.” Jason’s voice was hoarse, and he rested their foreheads together. “Fuck.”

“I wanted to tell you I was sorry for leaving,” Tim whispered. “I should never have taken off like I did. I should never have left you alone.”

“You were right,” Jason said.

“No, I wasn’t, but it’s different now –”

“No, you were right to go,” Jason insisted. “It’s still right.”

Tim drew back and looked up at Jason with confusion. “No, Jay, this changes it.”

Jason let his fingers fall through Tim’s hair before stepping back completely.

“I didn’t agree with your fucking assessment in the first place,” Jason started, without any bite. “But at least it meant you left.”

Tim didn’t move, but Jason could feel a shift and he put his hands on Tim’s shoulders, lightly holding him in place.

“Listen, I… The Pit, the way it affects me, yes it can make things more… But it doesn’t change the way I think. It’s an overlay. Instead of ramping me up, it makes it harder for me to calm down.”

Jason hated how he struggled to find the words.

“The point is that I don’t need any help to get fucking angry. And sometimes I go too far. It has gotten better, but… Roy and Kori, they’ve learnt how to deal with it. Stay out of my way, mainly. But you don’t. And look at how much I’ve hurt you.”

“That’s different –”

“The only thing that’s different is that you let yourself get hurt and think you’re doing the right thing.”

“You didn’t mean to hurt me!”

“But I still did it. And I will do it again, because you will try to help me again, and you will see taking a hit from me as just another calculated risk –”

“I know what I’m doing.”

“And then I have to watch you walk around with stab wounds that I gave you!” Jason shouted, throwing his hands up and pacing away.

When he turned around again, only Tim’s eyes were following him.

Jason sighed. “Face it, babybird. Our demons don’t play well together.”

“So that’s it, then?” Tim asked. His voice was infuriatingly neutral.

“What the fuck was it to begin with?” Jason shouted. He felt strung out, all the frustration and anger and nowhere for it to go.

“Where the fuck did this even come from? Last I checked you and I were on opposite sides of a fucking moral canyon! I’m not a Bat anymore, no matter what people say. Everyone knew this was fucking doomed from the start and I don’t know why I still can’t let it the fuck go!”

Jason’s voice echoed down the alley as the two of them stood there in heavy silence. He looked up at the sliver of grey sky visible between the buildings in the vague hope that an answer would be written in the clouds.

“I’m not giving up.” Tim’s words were bland, as if Jason hadn’t just screamed at the walls.

Jason rolled his eyes and looked over at him. “Replacement –”

“No,” Tim cut across him sharply. “I figured out who B was and bullied him into taking me on. You stole the tyres off the damn Batmobile when you were a child. I am the CEO of international company and you are a crimelord. I am a genius, and you, well jury’s out on that one.”

He looked at Jason with a wry smile.

“How many impossible things have we done? What’s one more?”


	57. Chapter 56

It was an incredible thing, Jason thought, looking at Tim.

He wanted to believe. Jason wanted to believe the idiot, and wasn’t that the problem.

Huffing a laugh, Jason smiled back at him. “There you go again, coach. But pretty speeches aren’t going to protect you from me.”

“Is that so? I guess we’ll have to come up with something else,” Tim smirked.

“Don’t smirk at me, I haven’t agreed to anything yet.”

“You will.”

“Don’t count your chickens, genius, I might outsmart you yet.”

Whatever Tim was going to say in response was cut off as an alarm sounded from inside Jason’s car.

“They’ve got a hit,” Jason said, heading back to the open door and fishing out his phone. He turned back to Tim. “Time to suit up.”

Tim already had his own phone in hand, fingers moving rapidly across the screen. “Send me the location.”

Jason nodded as his phone connected to Roy’s line.

“The Outstanding Outlaw Collection Service, how may I direct your call?”

“I made a reservation for a showdown with a mythic being. Should be under Hood.”

“Ah yes, Mr. Hood. Your escort is on their way. Please stand by.”

A boom overhead had Jason’s head snapping up as Superboy dropped into the alley.

“Rob, I –” He cut himself off when he saw Jason. “What are you doing here?”

“Sightseeing,” Jason deadpanned.

Tim ignored them and walked over to Superboy before turning back to Jason. “We’ll meet you there.”

Superbrat glared at Jason before wrapping his arms around Tim and taking off into the clouds.

“Kryptonite,” Jason muttered to himself.

Kori dropped into the alley a moment later. “I am looking forward to being somewhere the sun actually shines,” she announced.

Jason grinned. “Guess we better wrap this one up quick, then?”

Kori looked over his shoulder. “Are we taking the car?”

“I’ve messaged a guy to collect it from here. I just need a couple of bags from it,” Jason said, heading round to the backseat to grab his gear.

“Did your Bat find you?”

“What do you think?” Jason retorted, shutting the car doors.

“I think that Gotham Bats are often more trouble than they’re worth, with one obvious exception.”

“I’m flattered.”

“Who says I meant you?” Kori laughed as she held out her arms for him.

“Who would you trade me in for, hmm? The only other one who can cook as well is Alfred, you know.” Jason adjusted his bags and hooked his arms around Kori.

She frowned at him. “Roy likes him, you know.”

“Well, I saw him first,” Jason said flatly.

“When all of this is over, we are leaving Gotham,” Kori said, holding Jason’s gaze.

Jason looked up at the sky. The clouds were darkening. “I know.”

Kori didn’t say anything else as she flew them back to the ship.

Roy met them in the hangar with a manic glint in his eye. “No cameras in the area but the spike is pretty damn big, if you know what I mean. There’s a good chance we get to end a god today.”

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Jason said as he swung an arm around the practically vibrating outlaw.

“What am I waiting for?” Roy said with mock outrage. “What am I waiting for, he says, like he hasn’t been out galivanting!”

“He was with Red Robin,” Kori chimed in.

Roy put his hand on his chest and gasped. “Galivanting with a boy!”

“You are a traitor,” Jason pointed at Kori.

Kori just raised her eyebrows at him.

“Don’t blame Kori for your bad choices.”

“Oh, what, are you going to send me to my room?”

“You’ll be in for it when daddy gets home.”

Jason groaned. “I know we’ve talked about that word, you bastard.”

Kori shrugged. “As long as we are somewhere sunnier by the time he gets back.”

“Which we will be,” Roy said. “If we can get this show on the road.”

“I’m here, aren’t I?” Jason shouldered Roy to get him moving back to the control room.

“I’ll be following,” Kori said, turning back to head out and up above the cloud layer.

Jason turned to head to his room when Roy put a hand out to stop him.

“Will we be expecting a visit from said boytoy today?”

“Boytoy?” Jason parroted.

“And his super stalker, I guess,” Roy said. “Isn’t that a fun mess you’ve gotten into?”

“Don’t remind me,” Jason groaned.

“Hey, the heart wants what the heart wants. Unless it’s not your heart you’re thinking with,” Roy said with a wink.

“Oh, just fuck off.”

“Our Tim is very pretty isn’t he?” Roy linked his arm through Jason’s and began to walk him down the corridor, looking wistful. “Nice hair, lots of money, and you know what they say about single men in possession of a large fortune, don’t you?”

Jason ducked away and punched him the arm. “I swear to Diana, Roy, I will hurt you.”

“Bet you’re regretting making me sit through five hours of Colin Firth now, hmm?”

“Go fly the damn ship before I do something I’ll really regret.”

Roy laughed at him and spun away, before turning back with a more sober expression. “So he did find you then?”

Jason nodded slowly.

“And left in one piece?”

Jason rolled his eyes. “I’m not –”

“Don’t bullshit me.”

“Fine,” Jason said. “He left in one piece.”

“And you two, what, patched things up? Made each other daisy chains? Booked in for a couples’ pottery class?”

“That might be the most worrying thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“Whatever floats your boat, bud, after all, who am I to get in the way of young love?”

“Will you shut the fuck up?” Jason started to walk away. Roy had a tendency to run his mouth and when he got an idea into his head, it never went away quickly. It was both one of his best and worst traits, and often ended up in some sort of lecture for Jason.

Especially when he was worried.

Jason stopped and turned back. “Whatever happens, it’s still going to be Red Hood and the Outlaws.”

Roy’s concern flitted across his face for a moment before disappearing behind a look of indignation.

“Red Hood and the Outlaws? In your dreams! Arsenal and his Eternal Gotham Migraine, more like. Or Arsenal, Starfire and a Charity Case. Or –”

“The point is,” Jason interrupted, loudly. “You’re stuck with me for the foreseeable future.”

“Yeah, well,” Roy shrugged. “Difficult to see too far ahead with all the Bats in the way.”

“It’s just one Bat,” Jason said. “And nothing’s been decided yet.”

Roy sighed. “I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

Jason stepped forward and wrapped Roy up in a brief hug before turning away.

“When do I ever?”


	58. Chapter 57

Jason stood between Kori and Dick as Damian made grumbling little demonic noises off to one side.

They were waiting for the go-ahead from Roy, who was up in the ship making final adjustments to the Hades machine. Apparently, they were the type of adjustments where everyone had to stand well back.

And when Roy said stand back, it was usually best to stand back.

Which was how Jason ended up doing his best to ignore Dick’s pitiful attempts at small talk with Kori.

“Yeah, well, that’s Gotham. Some things never change. It’s a little sunnier in Bludhaven, if you’re ever down that way.”

“Shut the fuck up, Dickhead, for fuck’s sake,” Jason snapped.

Jason saw Dick glance at him quickly.

“You could be welcome, too, Jaybird.”

“Fuck you.”

Dick sighed, and drifted a little closer towards him, away from the others.

“Jason,” he said quietly. “I don’t want to fight with you.”

“Well I guess we have something in common,” Jason replied. “I don’t want fight with you either, but unfortunately we need all the help we can get.”

“Sticks and stones,” Dick muttered. He hesitated a second, and then turned fully away from the others.

“You’ve been working well enough with one Bat, recently,” he added casually.

Oh, fucking hell, Jason thought. Dick knows.

“You need to reassess your standards if ‘not actively murdering’ equates to ‘working well with,’ Jason said.

“That night, on the rooftop –”

“You’ll have to be narrow that down.”

“You shot me,” Dick said, his tone deceptively light.

“I shoot a lot of people, you’re not special.”

“Is Tim?”

Jason shot Dick a warning glance.

“We all have our own struggles, you know?” Dick started again. “Everyone has rough patches.”

“I’m going through one right now,” Jason muttered.

Dick ignored him. “Ups and downs are a part of life. Especially people like us. And sometimes when people go through hard times, they do things they might not normally do.”

Jason quickly clamped down on the little surge of anger as he figured out Dick’s angle.

“And when that happens,” Dick continued on. “It’s important to have people around who can keep an eye on things. Who –”

“I swear, Dickie, if you’re about to say ‘who know what’s best –”

“You’ll shoot me again?” Dick’s tone was sharper now. “Tim went through a difficult time, with B’s clash with the JL and the fallout with the Titans, and he’s not been acting like himself. And I just want to make sure he’s safe.”

“I’m sure you’ll win ‘Big Brother of the Year’ yet,” Jason said flatly.

“This isn’t about me,” Dick hissed. “This is about Tim, and what it says about his mental state that he’s fixated on you.”

Jason barely restrained himself from grabbing Dick by the collar. “Fixated?”

“Tim has a habit of letting his focus run into obsession, and you two have never exactly been friendly, and now I hear that you’re –” Dick cut himself off. “I just need to know that you’re not, not taking advantage –”

His fist connected with Dick’s face before Jason consciously made the decision to beat the living shit out of him.

The Demon Brat was on him in a heartbeat, launching himself up and colliding with Jason’s shoulders and knocking all three of them to the ground.

Jason reached out and grabbed the tiny psycho, rolling across the ground and up onto his feet where he could spin round and hurl the damn brat as far as he could throw him.

Damian recovered quickly and sprung back towards him when Dick caught him round the middle.

“No, stop!” Dick shouted.

“He attacked you, Grayson,” Damian yelled back. “Let me go!”

“We’re about to go up against a god, little D,” Dick huffed as he held onto Damian tightly. “Focus on the mission.”

“Tell that to Todd!”

“Jason isn’t stupid enough to start a real fight now,” Dick said, with a pointed look in Jason’s direction.

Jason’s smile was ugly. “Yeah, kid, I’m not going to start a fight and Dickhead’s going to keep his fucking mouth shut. Everybody wins.”

He turned and walked to stand beside Kori.

“You can start a fight if you like. The machine is what will kill Hades,” she said under her breath.

“Don’t tempt me,” Jason muttered back.

Taking advantage. The words rung in Jason’s head like a damn cathedral bell. That’s what the family thought of him, that he’d, what, seen an opportunity to get one over on his Replacement? Use him? Get some sort of sick kick out of degrading him?

It was fucking disgusting.

Jason was very much looking forward to getting the fuck out of Gotham.

Dick was still talking Damian down when there was a clap overhead, drawing everyone’s gaze upwards as Superboy and Red Robin dropped out of the sky.

Jason felt something in himself lift at the sight of Tim seeking him out as soon as he landed, something reassuring. Jason had half an instinct to pull Tim into his side and not let Dick near him.

Tim looked briefly at Dick and Damian before heading to stand with Jason and Kori. Whatever he saw on Jason’s face caused the slightest frown to appear on his face.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“Family bonding,” Jason said, throwing a dark look at Dick.

Tim watched Damian scowling and gesturing towards Jason. “Sorry I missed it.”

Jason huffed. “Yeah, I bet you’re real cut up about it, Replacement.”

Tim just smiled briefly in reply and said nothing.

There was a strangled noise behind them and Jason looked over his shoulder to see the Superbrat standing there with an expression so dumbfounded that Jason could have sworn he felt second-hand confusion.

The clone was saved from explaining himself when an explosion sounded from inside the ship.

Kori was gone in a rush of wind and Jason was on her heels, sprinting across the open ground to where the ship was parked. A cloud of smoke was streaming out of the hangar and Jason felt his throat seize up as his mind raced through any number of images of Roy, burned and injured and bleeding out on the cold metal floor.

Kori reached the ship first and the smoke started to clear and there, appearing at the top of the ramp, face sooty and hair on end, grinning like a madman, was a triumphant Roy.

“Eureka!”


	59. Chapter 58

Jason skidded to a halt at the base of the ramp and let the air flow into his lungs, feeling his body come down from the adrenaline.

Kori was on Roy immediately, checking him over for injuries as he protested and batted her hands away.

“I’m fine! I’m alright!” Roy coughed. “I have, in fact, once again proved my unlimited genius!”

Tim came to a stop beside Jason, looking up at Roy with confusion.

“What just happened?” he murmured to Jason.

“The Hades machine,” Jason said. “Roy had to make some adjustments, to make it portable.”

Realisation dawned on Tim’s face. “To take it down into the cave system.”

“Can’t rely on being close enough to the surface to draw him out,” Jason confirmed.

Roy looked around Kori and spotted Jason. “Come on! Get everybody on board! What are we standing around for?”

Jason strode up the rest of the ramp and hooked his arm around Roy’s neck pulling him down under his arm. “You’re a crazy bastard!”

Roy wriggled out from Jason’s hold and jumped back out of reach.

“It’s always called crazy before it works!” Roy exclaimed, before spinning back to Kori and half-dragging her inside. “Come on! Come on, we’ve got a god to destroy! A hell portal to close!”

Jason laughed with relief and beckoned Tim to follow him as he carried on into the hangar. The smoke had dispersed but there was still a smell of singed circuitry about the place.

Outside the control room, Roy bent over in a coughing fit again and Jason thumped him on the back as he walked past. “Sit the fuck down, you idiot.”

Jason had started running through the take-off sequence with practiced ease, his movements automatic, when he noticed a figure at the door.

“What are you lurking out there for, Replacement?”

“Just remembering the last time I was in this room,” Tim said, stepping inside. “It didn’t seem to go very well.”

“You mean when you were sneaking about trying to spy on us? What was it that killed that cat again?”

Tim glanced back out to where the others were settling in, then levelled Jason with a smirk and stepped forward. “I think something brought it back.”

Jason stopped and focused on Tim.

The little shit was flirting with him.

Well that wouldn’t do.

Jason checked the others were occupied before grabbing Tim by the arm and jerking him forward, forcing him off balance and twisting to catch him as he fell.

Tim just smiled as he recognised the move from their first encounter in the control room, letting Jason get away with it, and Jason grinned back.

“In the middle of a mission, Replacement? Tut, tut,” Jason crooned.

Jason expected the foot around the back of his knee, and allowed Tim to push him up and back against the wall.

“I’ve clearly been spending too much time with Outlaws,” Tim said as he leant into Jason’s body.

A metallic crack rang through from the hangar and both Jason and Tim turned in the direction of the door when Roy popped his head into the control room.

“Keep it up, lovebirds, you’re about to give Superboy an aneurism,” he said with a wink before ducking back out.

Jason laughed, but he felt Tim go tense against him and start to draw back.

“Hey,” Jason said quietly. “Just you and me decide what happens next. Fuck them.”

Tim held his gaze for a moment, and then relaxed fractionally with a nod. “Maybe we should stick to actually flying this thing for now.”

“Oh, I see,” Jason said, stepping back to the desk. “This is all just a ploy to get intel on the ship.”

Tim came to stand next him. “Ah, you’ve discovered my cunning plan.”

“Nothing gets past me,” Jason said, as he started up the flight sequence again.

Tim stood with him as Jason took the ship up and set it on the short course out to the coordinates the scanners picked up, choosing a landing site close to a known entrance to the cave network.

If Tim didn’t want to socialise with the others, Jason wasn’t going to force him.

Ten minutes later, Jason was setting the ship down in a vaguely hidden clearing and loading up with as much ammo and as many grenades as possible, and pointedly ignoring the disapproving looks of Dick and Damian.

Roy had already taken Kori and Superboy out to the hangar. Roy had explained that when he said the machine was ‘portable’ it would still have to be carried by someone with super strength.

Jason could feel himself settling into that mindset that had developed over years of preparing for a fight, and one look at Tim told him that Red Robin was doing the same.

Heading out towards the hangar to join the rest, Jason bet he could have heard the Demon Brat spitting with rage from the other side of the city.

“It is unacceptable! No, it is ridiculous, and I will be having words with – If father were here, there would be no such interference!”

“What the fuck is he complaining about now?” Jason said as he entered the hangar.

Kori was stood with her arms crossed in front of an irate Damian, once again being talked down by Dick.

“Kori looped their comms into the ship instead of the Bat network,” Roy grinned. “Apparently, that’s a grave insult.”

“Robin,” Dick said sharply. “Enough! Come on, we all have to work together.”

“Working together does not mean relinquishing all control to these criminals!” Damian spat.

“Tell you what, psycho,” Jason interrupted. “Either you shut the fuck up or I toss you in the shuttle and send you back to the cave. Do you think you’d prefer to be found by Alfred or B?”

“Like you could lay a hand on me –”

Jason’s hand went to his gun.

“Damian,” Dick practically begged. “We have a mission. This is not the time.”

Damian puffed up like an angry hamster and glared at them all for a moment.

“When this is over,” the brat finally said. “This will be dealt with.”

“Sure thing, brat,” Jason said, pushing past them to grab his equipment. “Let’s get the fuck on with it.”

Part of him wanted to send the kid away regardless. The Outlaws worked well together, that was proven, Dick had fought with all of them enough to be trusted and Jason knew Tim was good enough to adapt to a new team on the fly. But Damian was arrogant, young and, although technically competent, inexperienced.

Jason knew how the League trained people, so he knew better than most how much Talia’s son could be trusted to follow orders. There was a reason Ra’s killed as many of his own followers as he did.

Roy was showing Dick how to use the guns that they had used on Hades in their first encounter, while Kori and Kon went over the controls for the machine.

It was a massive cube-shaped metal contraption, with a lever on one side that released a bolt of energy when pulled. Resetting the lever forced the machine to recharge until it was released again, with about thirty seconds delay. On the front, a dish with three rods converged into a point to aim the blast. It looked like something out of Ghostbusters.

Roy loved it, Jason could tell.

Loaded up with everything they could carry, the makeshift group set out. The trek from the ship to the cave entrance was quick and quiet, all of them watchful. The ground became progressively rockier as they followed the natural valleys carved out over hundreds of years.

As they came to the start of their descent, Kori paused.

“I can hear something,” she said quietly.

Superboy nodded in agreement, his face grim.

Jason felt the memory of that creeping terror, grey skin, sharp black teeth, and steeled himself.

“Facilis descensus averno.”


	60. Chapter 59

The caves were not silent.

Rushing underground rivers echoed around them as the uneasy alliance of Bats, Outlaws and Titans followed the two members who could hear through it.

From the location they could pick up from the scanners, they estimated that the spike had been between one and two kilometres from the cave entrance. And that was as good a reading as the ship could give.

This close to their target, the group switched to hand gestures and body language more out of habit than the need to be quiet, falling into a naturally defensive formation.

Usually, Jason would only worry about being close enough to Roy and Kori, but he found himself leaving space for Tim automatically. Underneath the tight focus of the fight ahead, Jason was still a little alarmed about how quickly he had begun thinking of Tim as part of his team, rather than a temporary ally.

They walked carefully through the tunnels, senses sharp, until a rumbling reverberated through the thick stone around them.

Definitely not water.

A quick glance at Tim and Roy confirmed that they had heard it too. They were close.

Another drop through the twisting rock and Jason caught a flicker of light ahead. The sound of rushing wind clashed with the flow of water, and he could still feel the ground shake through his boots.

Kori put out a hand to stop Kon from moving further, silently moving him aside for Jason to move past and scout ahead.

The walls were damp, thin streams formed on the ground and Jason had to watch his step where the rock was slick. As he followed the light, it became obvious that it had a distinctly green tinge.

Inching around then next corner, Jason froze.

Gotcha.

Silhouetted in front of a huge portal of green flame, stood with his arms outstretched and black robes billowing out in clouds of smoke, was Hades.

The portal was in the centre of an open cave by one of the subterranean rivers, the ground flattened out on one sloping side.

“Not as big as B’s,’ Jason thought with a snigger.

Around the space, he saw three of the hellgiants, unmoving guards that didn’t seem to have noticed Jason’s presence.

His attention was pulled back the portal. The green flames had started to surge and push forward, and at the bottom edge, Jason could see the indistinct outline of a figure.

Somehow, Hades was using Ra’s to either open or maintain the portal. Ra’s had been resurrected who knew how many times, and had extended his life over and over using the Pit, and Hades had kept him alive. This had to be the reason.

Through the flames, something started to push out from the other side. Like the walls in Poltergeist, the portal distended inward until the flames broke and scattered back around the hulking figure of a fourth hellgiant.

Jason opened the comms in his helmet and whispered back to the others. “He’s here. Target plus four guards, and Ra’s. Kori, bring the machine through first, should be able to get one shot off at Hades. Then we need to get that portal down. Superboy, go straight for Ra’s. After that, it’s a free-for-all. The rest of us keep them busy until Kori can take them out.”

“That’s not much of a plan,” Tim said in his ear.

“It’s good enough for me,” Roy replied.

“It’s going to have to be good enough,” Jason whispered as he watched Hades send the new hellgiant to stand with the others and resume his stance in front of the portal. “We can’t wait.”

He drew back from the edge of the cave to wait as Kori and Superboy manoeuvred the machine through the passage and down to where Jason waited.

“Hades is right in front of the portal,” Jason told Kori as she landed next to him. “Straight ahead when you round the corner.”

Kori nodded in acknowledgment. “I am ready.”

Jason turned to Superboy. “Ra’s is behind the portal. He’s part of it somehow. Don’t touch the flames.”

“I’m not an idiot,” Kon whispered furiously.

“To be determined,” Jason quipped back, watching the others arrive at the cave.

Once everyone was settled, Jason looked back at Kori. “You’re up.”

Kori smiled sharply and stepped out into the cave, yanking on a lever on the side of the machine, aiming the metal dish ahead of her.

The dish came alive with crackling white electricity and pulsed forward, and Jason shot out as Kon flew over him into the cave.

The bolt hit Hades square in the back and he pitched forward with a scream, the tendrils of smoke pulling in tight against the charge. Hades hit the portal and the green flame roared up, engulfing him.

Jason was already running towards the closest hellgiant. It would take Kori a moment to reset that lever as the machine recovered before she could fire again.

“Robin, low right!” Dick called through the comms.

Overhead, Superboy whipped past the portal and Red Robin dropped from above to hit the newest hellgiant on the far side of the cave, coming down hard with his staff. The end of it sparked as it struck, Tim must have electrified it, and he was swinging down and around the giant creature.

Jason threw a stun grenade out as he ran at his own hellgiant, launching himself off the ground to collide with it a second after the grenade hit. It staggered back enough for Jason to slip around it and start emptying a clip into its knee from behind.

Robin sped past him, a blur of primary colours against the cave wall and Jason heard him grunt as he engaged the third.

A huge hand swung back at Jason, and he span right, giving him a clear view of Nightwing as he flew in from above, flipping in the air as he retracted his grapple and shot it back out at the head of the last hellgiant. The claw embedded into the metal with a clang and, as he fell past it, Dick’s momentum jerked it back by its neck.

“Jay, drop!” Roy yelled in his ear.

Jason obeyed without question and an arrow thudded into the giant’s armoured head, exploding on contact and forcing it back a step onto its weakened knee.

“Robin, clear,” Kori commanded a second later and another beam shot out across the cave.

Behind him, Jason heard the creature bellow and cut off as the beam struck it and exploded.

The blast knocked him forward a step and he couldn’t twist in time to avoid a strike from a huge clay hand. The blow caught him in the ribs and propelled him into the air a few feet before he hit the ground.

Jason gasped with the renewed pain across his ribcage and rolled back to his feet, pushing it to the back of his mind and attacking again.

The sound of Roy’s ballistic arrows sounded off methodically as Roy called them out to the others. Damian had joined Dick in his fight and Tim was still on his own on the other side of the cave.

Jason chanced a look over at the portal but couldn’t see Superboy.

Hades was trapped in the green flame like it was tar, straining against the hold of it, the blue flame of Hades’ skin melting into the green.

“Jay, clear!” Kori yelled.

Jason leapt backwards as the next blast landed and the hellgiant was unmade by lightning, not far enough to escape the force. Jason hit the side of the cave with a crack as his helmet hit rock and his vision swum.

How many concussions is too many for a month, Jason thought briefly.

When his eyes focused again, Jason saw Hades surging forwards against the hold of the portal and the flames stretched and distorted around him.

“Kori,” Jason shouted. “Hit Hades again!”

“Kon!” Tim called in his ear. “Get clear!”

“I’ve almost got him!” Superboy grunted back. “I’m almost there!”

“Clear!” Kori yelled again.

The blast arced toward Hades, almost free of the portal. He flung an arm up and spat his own charge from his outstretched hand as the blast hit.

Hades screamed again but he braced against the impact. The charge split as part of the energy was deflected across the surface of the portal and deafening crack sounded across the cave as the flames roiled.

“Kon!” Tim screamed.

The edges of the portal shook as the green fire drew back in on itself and everything went silent for a split second.

“Fuck,” Jason breathed.

The portal exploded.


	61. Chapter 60

Fire rushed through Jason’s blood, burning the inside of his veins.

He’d had nowhere to go, when the portal exploded, nothing between him and the blast and it had hit him like a wave of scorching air.

Green flame filled his vision and suddenly Jason was back in the Pit, clawing for the surface, desperate to breathe, to get away. He couldn’t see, he couldn’t hear, there was nothing beyond the horrific green fire invading every part of him.

Jason scrabbled for anything, anything around him as he thrashed against the pain.

All at once it disappeared.

Jason was left gasping on a damp, cold floor; ears ringing and body exhausted.

As the ringing began to fade, he could dimly make out voices shouting through his comms but he couldn’t breathe. Jason went for the catch on his helmet, yanking it off as he tried to gulp in air, rolling onto his side.

Hades, the cave, the portal. It all came back to Jason in a flood.

He pushed against the floor and stumbled to his feet, the cave filled with indistinguishable roars and shouts.

The other hellgiants were gone, vapourised in the blast.

Someone was at his side, trying to steady him. Jason tried to focus on the obnoxious combination of red, green and gold until Damian became clear in his vision. The tiny psycho was yelling at him, mouth moving, but it took Jason a second to hear it.

“Come on, Todd! Move! You have to move!”

Jason didn’t resist as Damian started to push him sideways, looking back up across the cave.

The portal wasn’t gone, but it was damaged. The explosion had carved a hole in the cave floor and the circular edges had warped. Green fire was pouring out of it and was mixing with the water rushing in from where the bank of the river had collapsed.

Jason had the horrifying feeling that he was watching the birth of a Lazarus Pit.

On the far side of it, Kori and Dick were still fighting, Kori ablaze and Dick practically flying around.

Hades was free. No longer stuck in the portal, he was a tornado of black smoke and blue fire as he raged.

By the cave entrance, Roy and Tim were crouched over the machine, hands moving urgently across exposed circuits.

Damaged by the blast, Jason thought. Fuck.

That only left – Jason scanned the cave as his vision steadied and saw them. Superboy and Ra’s al Ghul. Both unconscious, or worse, sprawled on the floor.

“Todd! Focus!” Damian shouted.

Jason started towards Hades. They had to buy enough time to fix the machine. That’s all he could do now.

Damian darted in front of him again.

“Todd!” he said sharply.

“I’m fine,” Jason said. “How many grenades do you have?”

Damian frowned, but didn’t argue. “None.”

“Get Roy’s gun,” Jason ordered. He didn’t wait to see if Damian would listen and started moving towards the fight, looking for an opening in Kori and Dick’s attack.

The pain of the blast was fading fast now and Jason pushed through the last of it as he started running. He had four grenades left.

Jason went for his comms only to remember he’d left his helmet on the floor.

Ah, shit.

Ahead of him, Kori smashed in to Hades with her full force, driving him back. Nightwing followed her with the other of Roy’s guns, firing into the black smoke.

Hades howled against the onslaught and drew up to strike at Kori but Jason threw his grenade and the charge detonated in front of Hades’ face.

He screamed and reeled, whipping round to search for his new attacker. When his gaze locked on Jason, the cold terror gripped him instantly.

Jason fought against it, pushed it down with all the strength he had, his hand going to another grenade.

Before he could throw it, a bolt hit Hades from behind as Damian joined the fight.

Kori flew out to Jason. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m not dead,” Jason said. “Can they fix it?”

“They’re nearly there,” Kori nodded. “A few more minutes.”

“Let’s give him hell, then,” Jason grinned.

Kori grinned back before swinging round and taking off again, firing into the swirling black smoke.

Jason ran after her as the smoke engulfed Dick, and threw another grenade. As it detonated, the tornado threw Dick out into Jason’s path. Jason couldn’t react quick enough to brace and collapsed under the impact.

“Thanks, Jay,” Dick gasped.

“Get the fuck off me,” Jason groaned.

They rushed to stand as Dick checked the charge on his gun and started back at Hades.

Dick fired as Jason threw another grenade, the combined force sending Hades stumbling backwards. Kori came down on him with the power of a super nova and Damian followed up with another blast.

Jason had one grenade left. After that, he had nothing that could hurt Hades. He needed another weapon.

He flung the last grenade as soon as Kori was clear and started sprinting back towards Roy and Tim.

“Arrows!” Jason yelled when he was close enough.

Roy jerked up and saw Jason running towards him.

“Arrows!” Jason yelled again.

Understanding dawned across Roy’s faced and he pushed his bow and quiver at Jason, as well as a couple of his own grenades.

Jason grabbed the quiver and swung it over his shoulder. “Progress?”

“This is the last,” Roy said, his and Tim’s fingers tying up wires inside the casing. “Under a minute.”

“Loving your work,” Jason shouted as he sprinted away from them and back towards the fight.

Reaching over his shoulder he dragged out an arrow and nocked it. He wasn’t the crack shot that Roy was, but he had a decent chance of hitting his target.

Especially when his target was a giant raging god tornado.

Jason didn’t bother rationing. This was it. If the machine didn’t work, then none of their weapons would stop him. If the machine didn’t kill Hades, they would have to cut and run.

Hades struck out again, sending Kori spinning into the rock. Damian sprinted straight at him and fired again as Dick ran for Kori.

Jason sent bolt after bolt, the impacts weaker than his grenades but enough to do something.

Hades whirled around and drew himself up over Damian.

The kid froze.

“Fuck.”

Jason started to run. Dick was still helping Kori up and hadn’t seen it.

Jason pulled out one of Roy’s grenades and pitched it at Hades’ face, not slowing as he barrelled into Damian and knocked them both out of the way of Hades’ strike.

“You will not defeat me!” Hades roared, as he drew back. “You think you can kill Death? I will destroy you!”

Hades wheeled around and grabbed the unconscious body of Ra’s al Ghul.

Dick was helping Kori stand and Damian had shaken off the fear and stood next to Jason as Hades screamed.

“This is your end,” Hades hissed, holding Ra’s up.

Jason loosed an arrow at the same time Dick shot at Hades but it was too late. His blackened claws dragged across Ra’s’ throat and dropped him into the burning water.

“Clear!” Roy yelled.


	62. Chapter 61

Jason flung himself to the ground as the machine detonated and a blazing tendril of white light struck Hades in the chest with a deafening crack.

The ground was shaking underneath him, but Jason was transfixed by the blast as it flared out around Hades.

Lightning crashed into crawling blue flame, the fire twisting as it sputtered and died, leaving only grey, shrivelled skin its wake. The smoke writhed and retracted into the mass of tangled black robes and the very presence of him seemed to shrink.

The god’s face contorted with rage and pain and Hades roared as he glared at Jason.

All the warmth fled Jason’s body. He was caught in the chilling pitch black of Hades’ eyes and for one stretched-out moment Jason felt a dark, gaping eternity rise up behind him.

Then Hades staggered back, and the green fire of the crumbled portal reached out to engulf him, and dragged the petrified God of the Underworld into its depths.

And Hades was gone.

“Yes!” Roy yelled with glee, pulling Jason out of his cold daze. “Take that, you fucking bastard!”

“What did he do?” Tim shouted as he ran around the side of the portal. “What did he do with Ra’s?”

“Grandfather is dead.”

Jason wouldn’t have heard Damian if he hadn’t been so close. He turned and saw a strange shock on the boy’s face, and Jason thought he’d never seen Damian look more like a child.

“If you believe that,” Jason said, as he stood back up. “Then you clearly don’t know the Head of the Demon.”

Jason’s words jerked Damian’s attention back and Jason could see something focus in the kid’s eyes.

The ground was still shaking. River and flame were still rushing into each other in the blazing green water, expanding out as Jason stared down into it.

“It’s growing,” Kori warned, still the far side of the pool.

“We need to find a way to close it,” Dick called.

“How the actual hell do we do that?” Roy said, trotting forwards to look at it for himself.

The cave shook violently, and more of the stone riverbank collapsed into the pool, spilling green fire up onto the shore and down the river itself.

“This cave will collapse,” Dick said. “Whatever we do, we need to do it fast.”

“The whole damn island will collapse,” Jason said in disbelief. “Who knows what the fuck will happen if this gets to the sea.”

“We need to call father,” Damian interrupted. “We need the Justice League.”

“It’ll still take them days to get to back,” Tim called, crouched down next to Superboy’s unconscious body. “Kori, can you help me?”

“There’s gotta be someone on the Watchtower,” Roy said, a hint of desperation in his voice.

“How did Hades close them?” Dick said. “Can we use the machine somehow?”

Roy blanched. “You want to just try and blast it?”

“Do we have a better plan?” Dick countered. “Damian, you head above ground and call the Watchtower.”

“I am not leaving you here to do something stupid, Grayson.”

Jason watched as more of the river collapsed and the fire spread.

It looked so much like the Pit.

Jason’s thoughts raced so fast he could barely keep up with them.

Hades had kept them alive.

He had taken Ra’s and Jason alive, that very first time - had looked at Jason and seen the same thing he’d seen in Ra’s.

He had kept Ra’s alive all this time, used him over and over again.

And Jason had felt this portal blast straight through him, hadn’t he? And he’d recognised it.

Hades’ fire had been blue. This was green.

It was like watching the birth of Lazarus Pit. That’s what had struck Jason.

The Pit restored life. It reached into the eternity of whatever afterlife there was and dragged you back to the world.

Hades had needed to reach over to the other side, to bring his henchmen to this world. From wherever the God of the Dead reigned.

And so Hades had kept Ra’s alive to use him. Had tried to keep Jason.

The Pit left part of itself behind, in its victims, in the very veins of them. It ran green and furious and clawed into the core of them. In Ra’s. In Jason.

A memory flashed across his mind, from a tunnel under the city.

And now Ra’s was gone.

And there was only Jason left.

And everything was collapsing around him.

“Do it,” Jason said.

The others looked at him.

“What?” Dick said.

“Shoot the portal with the machine,” Jason said. “Do it. When I give the signal.”

“What signal?” Roy frowned in confusion.

The cave shook harder and the green pool spilled over onto the shore as rocks began to drop from the ceiling.

“Now! Roy go now!” Jason yelled.

“What are you doing?” Tim called from where Kori was helping him carry Kon.

“Get back!” Jason turned to see if Roy was ready. “Get back and stay down!”

Roy was at the machine and was pulling on the lever.

Jason turned back to the portal. There was a wide green pool between him and the distorted source of the fire.

It was going to be one hell of a leap.

He hoped this fucking worked. Jason had a second chance to make his death count and he hoped it fucking meant something this time.

“Ready, Roy?”

“Jason!” Tim yelled again. “What are you doing?”

“It’s ready!” Roy called.

Jason looked back at Roy, his ridiculous, genius, fantastic best friend, trusting that Jason knew what he was doing.

And Kori, carrying Kon in her arms, incredible, inspiring, the best friend Jason could never have imagined.

They had made a fucking good team. The Outlaws. His family.

And Tim. Beautiful, infuriating, storm of a human being that had turned Jason’s life on its head in a matter of days.

Jason hoped this fucking worked.

“Jason!” Tim shouted again, his tone pleading.

“Gotta save the world, babybird,” Jason called back.

His heart was pounding in his chest.

It had to work. It had to fucking work.

Adrenaline flooded him and Jason knew he was shaking, but he couldn’t feel it.

If this was the death that stuck, it had to work.

Jason started running.

“Roy!” he shouted.

He’d died before. It wasn’t so bad. It was him or everyone else.

This had to fucking work.

“Jason!” Tim screamed. “Jason, stop!”

He was almost at the edge of the pool.

“Now! Roy! Now!” Jason yelled as he launched himself into the air.

It had to fucking work.

Jason saw the bolt whip past him a second before he hit the portal.

Freezing green fire engulfed him, the Pit ignited through his blood.

This had to fucking work.

Blinding white light exploded behind his eyes.

He wished he could have kissed Tim.

One last time.


	63. Chapter 62

Jason felt pain in every single inch of his body.

Everything was bright white behind his eyes, blinding.

As he adjusted to the pain, his senses came back to him in increments.

There was thin fabric, under his fingers. There was a plastic tube on his face, in his nose. There was another tube in his arm. Another tube in his cock. Plastic on his chest.

Something was beeping. A fan was running. An electrical hum.

He could smell antiseptic.

His mouth was dry, and he tasted mint. He tried to move his tongue, tried to wet his mouth but he just choked and coughed.

Ow.

Jason heard movement, and then a warm hand in his.

“Jay?” Roy’s voice said. “Jaybird?”

A hand was on his leg.

“Jason, we’re here,” Kori said.

Jason tried to open his eyes, but they were so heavy.

I’m awake, he tried to say.

Fuck, he was in pain. He was exhausted.

He let his eyes fall shut again.

The next time he woke up, it was easier. Though he wasn’t sure he was overly happy about it, as he opened his eyes.

Jason was in the Batcave.

His first instinct was to get out, get the fuck out now before someone came, and Jason felt his heart start pounding. But his body wouldn’t comply. And he ached all over.

He tried to look around. The lights were dimmed, but Jason could see the sleeping forms of Roy and Kori, curled up together on one of the other beds.

It was enough, though, to calm him a bit. He wasn’t alone.

Jason’s hand edged out across the bed, searching for the control that would be hooked on the frame somewhere. His fingers hit the side of it and he pulled it up onto the bed, tilting his head to look at the buttons.

There was a mechanical whirring as his head and torso were lifted up so he could look around properly, but Roy and Kori didn’t stir.

A jug of water and a cup were on the small table next him. Jason flexed his hand a bit, but figured actually pouring was still beyond him, so he reached out and tugged the jug onto the bed instead, leaning down to drink straight out of it.

Even with the fair amount that soaked into the bedsheets, it was worth it.

Jason was trying to figure out how to get it back on the table when it was lifted out of his hands.

He did not flinch. Jason did not flinch. It was a muscle spasm.

Jason looked up at the man now quietly pouring water into the cup.

Bruce was home, then.

Even if Jason could talk, he wasn’t sure if he’d have anything to say. As it was, he saw Bruce glance over at the sleeping Outlaws and knew that Bruce didn’t want an audience.

Bruce’s expression was neutral. He checked Jason’s drip, his heart rate and blood pressure on the machine, checked the air going into his cannula.

As much as he could check, without touching Jason.

Jason hated it.

It would take a lifetime for Jason to sort through everything he felt about Bruce.

Bruce had given him a home, luxurious beyond most people’s wildest dreams, had educated him, trained him, given him countless opportunities.

Bruce had loved him. He had been Bruce’s son.

But Bruce could be cold. Harsh. Cruel, as it seemed to a child. Even before his death, Jason had struggled to keep on Bruce’s good side.

Jason was always violent. And Bruce had drawn further and further away.

And then Jason was the Red Hood. And he’d learned that Bruce had put his memory in a glass case.

Bruce had replaced him. Bruce had let his murderer live to kill who knew how many. Bruce had decided not to be a grieving father and just be the Batman instead.

And when the Batman met the Red Hood, that’s all he saw. Bruce never accepted that his son was back. Bruce didn’t want anything to interfere with the memory he’d created.

It would hurt Jason every single day for the rest of his life. It was part of the foundation of who he was. But Jason had moved past needing to do something about it. He’d moved past revenge, or reconciliation. He could be petty though. He could give himself that.

Jason did what he had to do, because Gotham was his city too. No matter how many times Batman told people otherwise.

And now there was just this. Batman and the Red Hood, out there. And Bruce Wayne and the ghost of Jason Todd, in here.

He knew Bruce felt obligated to care of him, just like Jason would feel obligated if their roles were reversed, and he hated it.

Bruce was just observing him now, silent and unmoving.

Jason tried to glare back. He was pretty sure his face was not moving.

Eventually, Bruce backed away. Leaving as quietly as he entered.

Jason let his head fall back.

Fuck Bruce. Only he could make a staring competition so draining.

He was alive.

Jason was alive.

And he was in the Batcave with Kori and Roy. And Bruce.

So it had to have worked. They were all still alive, Gotham hadn’t collapsed into the ocean, they weren’t all swimming in a sea of green fire.

Jason really hoped his plan worked, because if it hadn’t and they’d come up with some other idea, he was never going to hear the end of it.

He was alive.

Jason wondered if he would ever get used to not being dead.

Well, at the very least, he’d like to get used to not having a catheter.

He tugged the trolley with the various machines to which he was hooked up closer to the bed, quietly opening the drawers until he found a syringe.

It was a simple procedure, and as he drew the last of the tube out of himself, Jason sighed in relief.

He inspected the bags on his drip, which were only simple fluids and painkillers.

No infections then, but he must have been unconscious for a while.

He was feeling a little more alert, a little steadier, as he looked across at Roy and Kori. Jason had assumed that they were sleeping on hospital beds pushed together, but he could see one of the carved wooden bedframes from the main manor rooms.

That definitely looked more comfortable than his now slightly damp arrangement.

He silenced the machines before he peeled the pads off his chest and then squirmed until he could drop his legs over the side, the floor cold through his medical socks.

It took a couple of attempts to stand steadily, but using the drip stand as a prop, he shuffled slowly over to the bed.

Fucking hell, his muscles were exhausted. He could barely keep himself up for the less than ten paces.

Jason flopped onto the bed next to Roy, leaving his arm sticking out where the tubes attached, and sighed. So much more comfortable.

Roy stirred behind him, and Jason was really too comfortable to feel all that guilty for waking him up, when Roy yelped.

“Jay! Kori, wake up!”

“No,” Jason mumbled into the pillow. “No waking up.”

He felt the mattress shift again and then Kori was hovering above him, running a hand through his hair.

“How are you feeling, Jason?” she asked.

“Tired,” Jason said.

“Well you can rest with us,” Kori said, her fingers stroking the side of his face.

Jason hummed.

“Do we need to check –” Roy started.

“Bruce was here,” Jason said.

“Oh,” Roy said. “Well, I guess you’re alright then.”

“Go to sleep, Roy.”

“Fine,” Roy said. “I’ll let you win this time. But when you wake up again, there will be much talking. And discussion.”

“Sure, bud,” Jason mumbled. “And Tim.”

“Shit,” Roy murmured under his breath, settling in behind him.

Jason wanted to ask what was wrong, as he drifted away, but the question was already gone.


End file.
